Thomas Thackeray (1693 – 25 August 1760) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the t ...

man who taught at his old school,

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 ...

, and ended his career as Head Master of

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

. He received the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

(DD).

Life

Born in 1693, a son of Timothy Thackeray, parish clerk of

Hampsthwaite Hampsthwaite is a large village and civil parish in Nidderdale in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Nidd north west of Harrogate. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 1 ...

, in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

(now in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

), who was one of a family of

yeomen Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

, Thackeray was born at Hampsthwaite and from 1706 was educated as a

King's Scholar A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar (elected on the basis of good academic performance and usually qualifying for reduced fees) of one of certain public schools. These include Eton College; The King's School, Canterbury; The King's Schoo ...

. In 1712, he became a scholar of

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, was elected a fellow of the college in 1715, and then returned to his old school, Eton, as an assistant

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled aft ...

. In 1728, he gained a

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

, as Rector of Little Chishall,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, which he held until his death. The same year, he was appointed as Rector of Heydon.

John Venn John Venn, FRS, FSA (4 August 1834 – 4 April 1923) was an English mathematician, logician and philosopher noted for introducing Venn diagrams, which are used in logic, set theory, probability, statistics, and computer science. In 1866, V ...

, ''Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part I. From the earliest times to 1751'', , p. 217 In 1729, he married Anne Woodward, and with her went on to have sixteen children. In 1743, Thackeray narrowly missed being elected as provost of his old college, King's. Christopher Tyerman, ''A History of Harrow School, 1324-1991'' (2000),
p. 115
In 1746, he was chosen as Head Master of

, and in 1748 as chaplain to

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fat ...

."THACKERAY, WILLIAM MAKEPEACE (1811–1863)"
in

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

online, , accessed 4 May 2019 The prince's early death in 1751 dashed some of his hopes of future royal preferment, but he remained on excellent terms with the new heir to the throne,

Prince George Prince George may refer to: People British princes * George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (1449-1478), middle brother of Edward IV and Richard III. * Prince George Augustus, later George II of Great Britain (1683–1760) * Prince George Will ...

, and in 1753

Benjamin Hoadly Benjamin Hoadly (14 November 1676 – 17 April 1761) was an English clergyman, who was successively Bishop of Bangor, of Hereford, of Salisbury, and finally of Winchester. He is best known as the initiator of the Bangorian Controversy. ...

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat ('' cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held '' ex officio'' (except ...

, gave him the sinecure of

archdeacon of Surrey The Archdeaconry of Surrey is the ecclesiastical officer in charge of the archdeaconry of Surrey, a subdivision of the Church of England Diocese of Guildford in the Province of Canterbury. History The whole archdeaconry was historically in the d ...

, which was worth another £130 a year, . Thackeray was looked on at Harrow as a wise appointment, as he had many useful social contacts, especially among the nobility. In the 1750s, Prince George's friend (and future prime minister)

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...

, sent his sons to Harrow. When he died in 1760, a month after retiring as head master, fourteen of Thackeray's sixteen children were still alive, and he was able to leave each of them £300, . His widow lived on until 1797, when she left a house at Eton and an estate worth £10,000.

Descendants

Thackeray's fourth son, Thomas Thackeray (1736–1806), was a surgeon at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

and was the father of William Makepeace Thackeray (1770–1849), a physician at Chester; Elias Thackeray (1771–1854), Vicar of

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is hal ...

, in

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

;

John Richard Thackeray John Richard Thackeray (17 May 1772 – 19 August 1846) was an English churchman and member of the Thackeray literary family. Early life Thackeray was born on 17 May 1772, the fourth son of Thomas Thackeray (1736–1806), surgeon, of Cambridge a ...

(1772–1846), churchman; and Jane Townley Thackeray (1788–1871), who in 1813 married George Pryme, an economist. Thackeray's fifth son, Frederick (1737–1782), was a physician at Windsor and was the father of General

Frederick Rennell Thackeray General Frederick Rennell Thackeray (1775 – 19 September 1860) was a senior British Army officer. Early life Thackeray was born in Windsor, Berkshire, a younger son of physician Dr Frederick Thackeray, and a grandson of Thomas Thackeray, he ...

; George Thackeray, Provost of King's College, Cambridge; and Jane, who married

James Rennell Major James Rennell, (3 December 1742 – 29 March 1830) was an English geographer, historian and a pioneer of oceanography. Rennell produced some of the first accurate maps of Bengal at one inch to five miles as well as accurate outlines of I ...

in 1772. Thackeray's other fourteen children included Anne, John, Alethia, Henrietta, Martha, Theodosia, and Decima. The youngest of Thomas Thackeray's children, William Makepeace Thackeray (1749–1813), became a clerk of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...

and made a fortune in India. He was designated as the first Collector of

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climat ...

in 1772. He returned to England four years later. His children included Francis Thackeray, author of the ''Life of Lord Chatham'' (1827); and Richmond Thackeray, born in 1781, Secretary to the Board of Revenue at Calcutta, who married Anne Becher, a daughter of John Harman Becher, and was the father of the novelist

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...

(1811–1863), an only child who was born at Calcutta in 1811. Thackeray is a direct ancestor of the comedian

Al Murray Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor, musician and writer from Hammersmith. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and in 2007 he was voted the 16th gre ...

, a great-great-great-grandson of the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray.Dominic Cavendish
Prime Time, Gentlemen, Please
in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' (London) dated 3 March 2007, accessed 8 May 2019

Notes

External links

Will of Thomas Thackeray, Doctor in Divinity of Harrow , Middlesex
at nationalarchives.gov.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Thackeray, Thomas 1693 births 1760 deaths Doctors of Divinity Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Head Masters of Harrow School People educated at Eton College People from Nidderdale Teachers at Eton College