Thomas Knox (1588–1628) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

from the 17th century who served as

Bishop of the Isles The Bishop of the Isles or Bishop of Sodor was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of the Isles (or Sodor), one of Scotland's thirteen medieval bishoprics. The bishopric, encompassing both the Hebrides and Mann, probably traces its origins as ...

Life

He was born in 1588 the son of Andrew Knox,

, and Elizabeth ("Bessie") Knox, his cousin. He was educated at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

graduating MA in 1608. He received crown provision to the

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

of the Isles on 4 August 1617Watt & Murray, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', p. 270. and started serving as a minister on

Tiree Tiree (; , ) is the most westerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The low-lying island, southwest of Coll, has an area of and a population of around 650. The land is highly fertile, and crofting, alongside tourism, and fishing are ...

in 1618. He is the first Dean of the Isles to be known by name (apart from the famous

Dean Monro Donald Monro (or Munro) (fl. 1526–1574) was a Scottish clergyman, who wrote an early and historically valuable description of the Hebrides and other Scottish islands and enjoyed the honorific title of " Dean of the Isles". Origins Donald Monr ...

, a century earlier), though an unnamed cathedral dean was recorded in 1572, and the "dean and chapter of Iona" are attested again on 5 June 1576. On 24 February 1619 he was granted crown provision to succeed his father as

, his father later becoming

Bishop of Raphoe The Bishop of Raphoe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bi ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Thomas Knox's last historical appearance dates to 1 November 1627, a year later than the date given by Robert Keith. He had died by 3 April 1628, meaning he almost certainly died earlier in that year or at most in 1627.Watt & Murray, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', p. 268.

Family and descendants

He married in 1625 Prudence Benson, daughter of the wealthy builder and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Peter Benson of London, who moved to

, oversaw the building of the Walls of Derry, and played a prominent role in the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...

. Her mother was probably his first wife, Jane Hobson of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. Thomas and Prudence had a son, also named Thomas. Her father, who died in 1642, left legacies to Prudence and her son. The eventual heiress of the family Catherine Knox married John Grogan of

Johnstown Castle Johnstown Castle is a Gothic Revival castle located in County Wexford, Ireland. Location Johnstown Castle is located on the Johnstown Castle Estate, a estate, located off the road between Murntown and Rathaspeck, southwest of Wexford town ...

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

, in about 1736 and was the mother of the United Irishman Cornelius Grogan, who was hanged for his part in the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The m ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Thomas 1588 births 1620s deaths Bishops of the Isles