Thomas Crooke (priest)
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Thomas Crooke (c.1545–1598) was a sixteenth-century English clergyman, who was noted for his strongly
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
views. He was the father of several children, including the lawyer and politician
Sir Thomas Crooke, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Crooke, 1st Baronet, of Baltimore (1574–1630) was an English-born politician, lawyer and landowner in seventeenth-century Ireland. He is chiefly remembered as the founder of the town of Baltimore, County Cork, which he developed into ...
, founder of the town of
Baltimore, County Cork Baltimore (; , translated as "fort of the jewels") is a village in western County Cork, Ireland. It is the main village in the parish of Rathmore and the Islands, the southernmost parish in Ireland. It is the main ferry port to Sherkin Island, ...
, and of
Helkiah Crooke Helkiah Crooke (1576 – 1648) was Court physician to King James I of England. He is best remembered for his textbook on anatomy, ''Mikrokosmographia, a Description of the Body of Man''. He was the first qualified doctor to be appointed Keeper ...
, Court physician to King James I.


Life

He was born at
Cransley Cransley is a civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It contains the village of Great Cransley but Little Cransley is in the adjacent parish of Broughton. At the time of the 2001 census, Cransley parish had 283 inhabitants, increasing to ...
in
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
. From his will, we know that he had several siblings and that his father after his mother's death remarried a Mrs. Joyner, who was still alive in 1595. His son Thomas in his will of 1629 left a
legacy Legacy or Legacies may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * " Batman: Legacy", a 1996 Batman storyline * '' DC Universe: Legacies'', a comic book series from DC Comics * ''Legacy'', a 1999 quarterly series from Antarctic Press * ''Legacy ...
to "my good old Aunt Hudson", who was probably the elder Thomas's sister; she was still alive in 1635. Sir George Croke, one of the High Court judges who heard the Case of Ship Money, is sometimes referred to as his cousin, but the exact connection between them is unclear. He went to school in Stamford and matriculated at
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
in 1560, becoming scholar in 1562,
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
1563 and
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
1566. He was
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
in 1568 in
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 ...
and presented to the living of
Great Waldingfield Great Waldingfield is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England about two miles (3 km) north-east of Sudbury and two miles (3 km) south-west of its sister village, Little Waldingfield. The village is spl ...
,
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
in 1571. He graduated
Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...
from
Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...
in 1578.
Great Waldingfield Great Waldingfield is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England about two miles (3 km) north-east of Sudbury and two miles (3 km) south-west of its sister village, Little Waldingfield. The village is spl ...
- Thomas was vicar here from 1571 From the beginning of his career, he belonged to the "godly elite", the circle of Calvinist clerics who included
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 ...
, Thomas Cartwright,
John Field John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...
and
Thomas Wilcox Thomas Wilcox ( – 1608) was a British Puritan clergyman and controversialist. Life In 1571, with John Field he authored the ''Admonition to Parliament'', that called for the removal of bishops and ecclesiastical hierarchy. Wilcox and Field we ...
, all of whom were friends of his. He was a member of the conference which first met in 1570 to press an ambitious programme of ecclesiastical reform on
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. Unlike some of his colleagues, he left no published works behind him, and does not seem to have played a leading part in the religious debates of the time. However his strong Calvinist views were well known to the Church authorities; possibly as a precaution against any action being taken, he obtained the position of preacher to
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, being "specially appointed" to it in 1582. He combined this with the living of St. Mary Woolchurch. This apparently saved him from a serious clash with either John Aylmer,
Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
or
John 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 ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
; the authorities even enlisted him from time to time to engage in controversy with the
Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
. He became reader at
St Peter, Westcheap St Peter, Westcheap, also called "St Peter Cheap", "St Peter at the Cross in Cheap", or "Ecclesia S. Petri de Wodestreet", was a parish and parish church of medieval origins in the City of London. The church stood at the south-west corner of Woo ...
in 1597. He died in 1598 and as requested in his
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
(a very long and detailed one) he was buried in St. Mary Woolchurch "without superstition or vanity... since it is there that a great part of my poor labours has been bestowed for many years".


Family

His wife was a Miss Samuel. In addition to Sir Thomas Crooke, they had four sons:
Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...
, a preacher of some note,
Helkiah Crooke Helkiah Crooke (1576 – 1648) was Court physician to King James I of England. He is best remembered for his textbook on anatomy, ''Mikrokosmographia, a Description of the Body of Man''. He was the first qualified doctor to be appointed Keeper ...
, Court physician to King
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334†...
, John, and Richard. They had four daughters: Sarah, who married Stephen Egerton, another of the ''godly elite'', Rachel, who married Henry Rosse, a London
goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...
, Anne and Elizabeth. John may have died before 1630 since Thomas' eldest son, Sir Thomas Crooke, does not mention him (unlike his three brothers) in his will; from this will we also know that Rachel (by then "much impoverished") was still alive in 1630. Sarah had died in 1624; in her will, she left to her brother Thomas her husband's ring "with a
death's head Emmanuel da Costa Emmanuel da Costa is a fictional character appearing in American comic book published by Marvel Comics. Emmanuel da Costa is an Afro-Brazilian businessman and the father of Roberto da Costa. Dagger Dagoth Daggoth is a fic ...
", to Samuel her wedding ring, and small sums of money to her other siblings. Through Sarah's husband Stephen Egerton the Crookes had a family connection with
John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the fir ...
, the celebrated
Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts has ...
, who married Stephen's niece Margaret Tyndal Winthrop.


References

*Usher, Brett "Thomas Crooke" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' 2004 *Ekin, Des ''The Stolen Village-Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates'' O'Brien Press Dublin 2008


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crooke, Thomas 16th-century English Puritan ministers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People from North Northamptonshire 1540s births 1598 deaths People from Babergh District