Individual Details

Rev. John Lothropp\ Lathrop

(Bef 20 Dec 1584 - 8 Nov 1653)

John Lothropp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reverend John Lothropp (1584 - 1653) (sometimes spelled Lothrop or Lathrop) was a Congregationalist minister who led a small religious following to the American colonies. Born in Etton, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. He was baptized Dec 20, 1584. He attended Queen's College Cambridge, where he was matriculated in 1601, graduated with a B.A. in 1605, and with a MA in 1609. He was ordained in the Church of England and appointed curate of a local parish in Egerton, Kent. In 1623 he renounced his orders and joined the cause of the Independents.

Lothropp first gained prominence as a clergyman in 1624, when he was called to replace Rev Henry Jacob, as the pastor of the First Independent Church in London, a congregation of sixty members, which met at Southwark. Church historians sometimes call this church, the Jacob-Lathrop-Jesse Church, named for its first three pastors; Henry Jacob, John Lothropp, Henry Jessey. They were forced to meet in private to avoid the scrutiny of Bishop of London William Laud. Following the group's discovery on April 22, 1632 by officers of the king, forty two of Lothropp's Independents were arrested. Only eighteen escaped capture. They were prosecuted for failure to take the oath of loyalty to the established church. They were jailed in the Clink prison at Newgate. All were released on bail by the spring of 1634 except Lothropp who was deemed too dangerous to be set at liberty. While he was in prison his wife Hannah House became ill and died. His six surviving children were according to tradition left to fend for themselves begging for bread on the streets of London. Friends being unable to care for his children brought them to the Bishop of Lambeth who had charge of Mr. Lothropp. The bishop ultimately released him on bond in May of 1634 with the understanding that he would immediately remove to the New World.

He, with his group, sailed on the Griffin and arrived in Boston Sept. 18, 1634. Lothropp did not stay in Boston long. Within days, he and his group relocated to Scituate where they "joyned in covenaunt together" along with nine others who preceded them to form the "church of Christ collected att Scituate." The Congregation at Scituate was not a success. Dissension on the issue of baptism as well as other unspecified grievances and the lack of good grazing land and fodder for their cattle caused the church in Scituate to split in 1638.

Lothropp petitioned Governor Thomas Prence in Plymouth for a "place for the transplanting of us, to the end that God might have more glory and wee more comfort". Thus as Otis says "Mr. Lothropp and a large company arrived in Barnstable, Oct 11, 1639 O.S., bringing with them the crops which they had raised in Scituate." There, within three years they had built homes for all the families and then Lothropp began construction on a larger sturdier meeting house by Coggin's (or Cooper's) Pond, which was completed in 1644. This building, now part of The Sturgis Library in Barnstable, Massachusetts is one of John Lothrop's original homes and meeting houses, and is now also the oldest building housing a public library in America.

Rev. John Lothropp's legacy is steadfastness in adherence to the principles of Independency, even in the face of imprisonment, and tolerance in matters of faith and conscience. No applicant to his church was required to sign a creed or confession of faith. No Magistrate, jail or stocks were needed to restrain crime during his tenure. "He was a man of humble and broken heart spirit, lively in dispensation of the Word of God, studious of peace, furnished with godly contentment, willing to spend and be spent for the cause of the church of Christ."

He married Hannah House in England, on October 10, 1610. They had eight children:

After Hannah's death, Lothropp married again, to Ann Hammond (?) in 1635. They had five children.

Lothropp's genealogical significance continues to this day. His direct descendants in America number more than 80,000, including U.S. Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Governors Mitt Romney, George W. Romney, Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, Benedict Arnold, and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, among many others.



"the Rev. John Lathrop of Barnstable"of Scituate

(Ellen Baker)
As a result of political conflict in England between King Charles and Parliament religious dissenters were prosecuted. Rev. John Lothrop was imprisoned from 1632 to 1634. While in prison, his wife, Hannah Howse (House) died. He was banished to America upon his release. He led a group of followers to Scituate, Plymouth Co., MA. They sailed on Sept. 18, 1634 on the Griffin to Boston, Suffolk, Co., MA. Rev. John Lothrop would later lead a group to Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. Today Barnstable considers Rev. John Lothrop to be its founder. His house is now the town library.

It appears that the name Lothropp, which his father used when naming his children, was changed by dropping the final 'p'. However, John's son Samuel occasionally wrote his name Lathrop, which can be seen in certain genealogies concerning the CT or western MA branches of the family. In

addition to these, the names Laythrop and Lawthrop are seen referring to descendants. After receiving his Master of Arts degree from Queens College, Cambridge in 1609, John became the perpetual curate of the Egerton Church in Kent (the last Anglican Church parish he would serve). In 1624 he succeeded Rev. Henry Jacob as pastor of the first Independent (Congregationalist) Society in London. Jacob was one of the puritans who fled to Leyden, Netherlands before 1616 to avoid persecution, but returned to England when, in 1620, a portion of the church moved to Plymouth, MA.

In 1625, Charles I became King. He tried to conform all political and religious institutions; sold monopolies, titles, and church positions to the highest bidder; levied fines against those who refused to take an oath of allegiance. Those who did not affirm that the Church of England was the true apostolic church were excommunicated. To this end, Charles I appointed a Bishop Laud as Archbishop of Canterbury and empowered him to reform the entire Church of England. Laud established a uniform system of worship that he imposed on all Englishmen; burned books and pamphlets that did not pass his censorship; ordered inspection tours of parish churches to insure the use of the Book of Common Prayer.

http://www.xmission.com/~families/books.html
Richard W. Price & Associates - Genealogical Services
57 W. South Temple, Suite 450--P.O. Box 11980--Salt Lake City, UT 84147

John Lothropp/Lathrop (1584-1653) A Puritan Biography and Genealogy.

John Lothropp/Lathrop is ranked as one of the four most prominent clergymen in Colonial America. This book traces his ancestry back four generations, and includes all of his descendants for three generations, including documentation for the same. He has one of the most prolific and prominent posterities of any of the original Colonists. A pedigree included in the book shows his lineage traced down to individuals of prominence, including Presidents Bush, Roosevelt, and Grant, as well as Eli Whitney, Henry W. Longfellow, Joseph Smith, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and many others. Authored by Richard W. Price, M.A., monograph, 40 pages.

Events

BirthBef 20 Dec 1584Etton, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Baptism20 Dec 1584Etton, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Marriage10 Oct 1610Eastwell, Kent, England, United Kingdom - Hannah Howse
Immigration18 Sep 1634
MarriageBef 14 Jun 1635Ann Hammell?
Will10 Aug 1653
Death8 Nov 1653Barnstable, Massachusetts, British America

Families

SpouseHannah Howse (1594 - 1633)
ChildJane Lothropp\ Lathrop (1614 - 1683)
ChildAnne Lothropp\ Lathrop (1616 - )
ChildJohn Lothropp\ Lathrop (1617 - 1653)
ChildBarbara Lothropp\ Lathrop (1619 - )
ChildThomas Lothropp\ Lathrop (1620 - 1707)
ChildSamuel Lothropp\ Lathrop (1622 - 1699)
ChildJoseph Lothropp\ Lathrop (1624 - 1702)
ChildBenjamin Lothropp\ Lathrop (1626 - 1691)
SpouseAnn Hammell? ( - 1687)
ChildBarnabas Lothropp\ Lathrop (1636 - )
ChildLothropp\ Lathrop (1638 - )
ChildAbigail Lothropp\ Lathrop (1639 - )
ChildBathshua Lothropp\ Lathrop (1641 - )
ChildCapt John Lothropp\ Lathrop (1644 - )
ChildLothropp\ Lathrop (1649 - )
FatherThomas Lowthrop (1536 - )
MotherMary Howell ( - 1588)
SiblingAnne Lowthrop ( - )
SiblingMary Lowthrop (1575 - )
SiblingThomas Lowthrop ( - )
SiblingWilliam Lowthrop ( - )

Notes

Endnotes