Samuel Foxe (1560–1630), was an English diarist and politician. He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

for

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester District in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother (Western), River Rother, inland from the English Channel and north of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first reco ...

in 1589 and for

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023. History The Knaresborough Hoard, the largest hoard of ...

in 1593.

Information

Foxe was the eldest son of

John Foxe John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587) was an English clergyman, theologian, and historian, notable for his martyrology '' Foxe's Book of Martyrs'', telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the sufferings of En ...

, the martyrologist. He was born at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

on 31 December 1560, and admitted into Merchant Taylors' School, London, on 20 October 1572. In 1574 he went to Oxford, where he was elected demy of

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

. In 1576 he left for France without the permission of his tutors or the knowledge of his father. He was, however, readmitted to the college, although he is said to have acquired a fondness for dress, which displeased his father. In 1579 he was elected probationer, and in 1580 fellow of his college. In 1581 he was expelled on religious grounds. He seems to have quarrelled with some of his colleagues who adopted the more extreme forms of

puritanism The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should ...

. His father temperately pleaded for his restoration, and wrote to a bishop, probably Horn of Winchester, soliciting his help in the matter. Meanwhile, Samuel spent more than three years in foreign travel, visiting the universities of Leipzig, Padua, and Basle. He returned to England in 1585, and was restored to his fellowship. His father gave him a lease of Shipton, Wiltshire, attached to the prebend which the elder Foxe held in

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

. In 1587 he was admitted into the service of Sir Thomas Heneage of Copt Hall, Essex, and became custodian of

Havering-atte-Bower Havering-atte-Bower ( ) is a village in Greater London, England, in the far north of the London Borough of Havering. The village lies northeast of Charing Cross. It was one of three former parishes whose area comprised the historic Royal Libe ...

and clerk of Epping. On 15 April 1589 he married Anne Leveson, suspected daughter of Sir Thomas Leveson and sister to Sir John Leveson. He was chosen burgess for the university of Oxford in 1590. The parliament in which he sat was of very brief duration, but it passed—probably with Foxe's aid—a valuable and much needed act directed against abuses in the election to fellowships, scholarships, and similar positions. About 1594 he settled at Warlies, near

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the London metropolitan area, metropolitan and urban area of London, England, East London, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich ...

, and died there in January 1629–30. He was buried at Waltham Abbey 16 Jan. His will was dated 22 June 1629.

Written works

The Latin treatise on the Apocalypse, dedicated by him to

Archbishop Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...

, was written by his father. The 'Life' of his father, prefixed to the second volume of the ' Actes and Monuments' in the edition of 1641, has been repeatedly ascribed to him. But internal evidence is much opposed to this theory of authorship. His 'Diary,' very brief and extending over only a portion of his life, will be found in the appendix to Strype's 'Annals.' The original is in British Library Lansdowne 679. A letter to his brother

Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew, Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Sy ...

is in British Library Harley MS 416, at f. 222, and a continuation of his travels in Lansdowne MS 679. The latter pieces are printed in William Winters' ''Biographical Notes on John Foxe the Martyrologist'', 1876.

Family

By his wife Anne, who was buried by her husband 18 May 1630, Foxe had three sons, Thomas, John, and Robert. Thomas Foxe, M.D. (1591–1662), born at

Havering Palace Havering Palace was an old royal residence in England, in the village of Havering-atte-Bower (formerly in Essex, since 1965 in the London Borough of Havering). It was built before 1066 but abandoned in 1686. By 1816 no walls remained above grou ...

14 February 1591; matriculated from Magdalen Hall, Oxford, 19 June 1607; was demy of Magdalen College 1608–13, and fellow 1613–30,Bloxam, v. 30 proceeding B.A. 1611 and M.A. 1614. He was bursar of his college in 1622, and junior proctor of the university 1620–1. He afterwards studied medicine, proceeding M.D. at Oxford, and was a candidate of the London College of Physicians 25 June 1623. A letter describing Ben Jonson's reception at Oxford, written by Thomas Foxe to his father, is preserved in Harley MS 416, at f. 226, and has been printed by William Winters. On 8 May 1634 James Hay, Earl of Carlisle, applied to him for a loan of £500. He seems to have acquired much property, and to have been friendly with men eminent in literature and society. He died at Warlies 20 November 1662, and was buried in

26 November. He married Anne, daughter of Richard Honeywood of Charing, Kent, and Marleshall, Essex, and granddaughter of Mrs. Mary Honeywood, the pious friend of his grandfather, the martyrologist. By her he left a daughter Alice, who married Sir Richard Willys, baronet. Robert, Samuel's youngest son, was a captain in the navy, and died in 1646. He wrote to his elder brother an interesting letter descriptive of the trial of the Earl and Countess of Somerset.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foxe, Samuel 1560 births 1630 deaths 16th-century English diarists 17th-century English diarists 16th-century English male writers 17th-century English male writers Politicians from Norwich Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 Writers from Norwich People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood