John Oxenbridge (30 January 1608 – 28 December 1674) was an English Nonconformist

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

, who emigrated to

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Life

He was born at

Daventry Daventry ( , historically ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority in Northamptonshire, England, close to the border with Warwickshire. At the 2021 Census Daventry had a population of 28,123, making ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

, and was educated at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican m ...

, and

Magdalen Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

(B.A. 1628, M.A. 1631). As tutor of Magdalen Hall he drew up a new code of articles referring to the government of the college. He was, as a consequence, deprived of his office in May 1634, by

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...

.''Concise Dictionary of National Biography'' After leaving the Hall, Oxenbridge married his first wife, Jane Butler. He began to preach, with a similar disregard for constituted authority. His wife being a scholar in the profound points of theology, he commonly got her opinion upon a text before he preached it. After voyages to the

Bermudas ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , ...

he returned to England (1641), and after exercising an itinerant and unattached ministry settled for some months in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

and then at

Beverley Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull. The town is known fo ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

he was lecturer at St. Mary's,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, and helped negotiate the surrender of

Scarborough Castle Scarborough Castle is a former medieval Royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The site of the castle, encompassing the Iron Age settlement, Roman signal station, an A ...

. He was minister at

Berwick-on-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

when in October 1652 he was appointed a fellow of

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. In 1653 he was made a commissioner with responsibility for the Bermudas.Nicholas Murray, ''Andrew Marvell: World Enough and Time'', pp. 77-81. At Eton in 1658 he preached the funeral sermon of

Francis Rous Francis Rous, also spelled Rouse (c. 1581 to 1659), was an English politician and Puritan religious author, who was Provost of Eton from 1644 to 1659, and briefly Speaker of the House of Commons in 1653. Stepbrother of Parliamentary leader ...

, the provost. In 1658, his first wife died.

Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...

, who was their friend, wrote an epitaph ''Janae Oxenbrigiae Epitaphium'' for her tomb at Eton. It was defaced at the Restoration. Less than a year after his first wife's death, Oxenbridge married Frances Woodward, daughter of

Hezekiah Woodward Hezekiah Woodward (1590–1675) was an English nonconformist minister and educator, who was involved in the pamphlet wars of the 1640s. He was a Comenian in educational theory, and an associate of Samuel Hartlib. He was one of those articulating th ...

, ejected vicar of Bray. Frances died in childbed in the first year of their marriage. In 1660 Oxenbridge was ejected from Eton. He returned to his preaching at Berwick-on-Tweed, but was expelled by the Act of Uniformity in 1662. He then spent some time in Surinam and

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

. He married his third wife, Susanna, after November 1666, and probably at Barbados, where he had met her. In 1670, he settled at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts. He and his wife were admitted members of the

First Church in Boston First Church in Boston is a Unitarian Universalist Church (originally Congregationalist) founded in 1630 by John Winthrop's original Puritan settlement in Boston, Massachusetts. The current building, located on 66 Marlborough Street in the Back ...

, and shortly afterwards he was unanimously invited to become its pastor, succeeding John Davenport. Oxenbridge died in 1674 near the end of one of his sermons, and was buried in

King's Chapel Burying Ground King's Chapel Burying Ground is a historic graveyard on Tremont Street, near its intersection with School Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1630, it is the oldest graveyard in the city and is a site on the Freedom Trail. Despit ...

in Boston.

Works

''A Double Watch-Word'' or, ''The Duty of Watching, and Watching to Duty'' (1661). ''A Quickening Word'' (1670). ''New England Freemen Warned and Warmed'' (1673).

Family

His sister Elizabeth married

Oliver St John Sir Oliver St John (; c. 1598 – 31 December 1673) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640-53. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. Early life St John was the son of Oliver S ...

, as his second wife. His daughter Theodora married Peter Thacher (1651-1727).

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oxenbride, John 1608 births 1674 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Alumni of Magdalen Hall, Oxford American Christian clergy Kingdom of England emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony American religious writers Ejected English ministers of 1662 English theologians Fellows of Eton College Massachusetts colonial-era clergy People of colonial Massachusetts 17th-century New England Puritan ministers People from colonial Boston Clergy from Boston English male non-fiction writers Burials in Boston