Thomas Shepard (November 5, 1605 – August 25, 1649) was an American Puritan minister and a significant figure in early colonial New England.
LIFE
Shepard was born in Towcester, Northamptonshire. His devout mother died when he was four and he lived a difficult life under his stepmother. His father died when he reached ten, at which point he lived with his grandparents and later an older brother, whom he held in high and grateful regard. A schoolmaster ignited in him a scholarly interest, which ultimately led to entry into Emmanuel College in Cambridge University at the age of fifteen.[1] He accounts in his autobiography that he lived a dissatisfied and dissolute life, which led him to pray out in a nearby field, at which point he underwent the beginnings of a conversion experience.
In 1627 he became assistant schoolmaster at Earls Colne Grammar School in Earls Colne, Essex. He became a minister whose sermons and Puritan ways drew the ire of Church of England Archbishop William Laud, and he was forbidden to preach. Following the death of his eldest son, he left England in 1635 with wife and younger son on a difficult voyage for Massachusetts in colonial America. His wife died thereafter, as did his second wife and other children, though he framed these experiences, if not without difficulty, into the perspective of his theology.
Shepard died of quinsy, a Peritonsillar abscess, which is a complication of tonsillitis at the age of 44.
LEGACY
Shepard was regarded as one of the foremost Puritan ministers of his day, esteemed in the company of individuals like Richard Mather and John Cotton. He took special interest in Puritan ministry to the Massachusetts Native Americans. His written legacy includes an autobiography and numerous sermons, which in some measure of contrast with others of his day, tended to accent God as an accessible and welcoming figure in the individual life. Today a plaque at Harvard University, in the words of Cotton Mather, records that it was in consideration of the salutary effect of Shepard's ministry that the college ultimately came to be placed in "Newtowne", known today as Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Three of Shepard's sons followed him into the ministry; Thomas Shepard II, Samuel Shepard, and Jeremiah Shepard. Thomas Shepard II was an ancestor of U.S. Presidents John Quincy Adams and Franklin D. Roosevelt.∼Born in Towchester, Northamptionshire, 5 Nov 1604, son of William Shepard. Attended the Free School of Towchester from about 1614 to 1619. Admitted pensioner at Emmanuel College, Cambridge on 10 Feb 1619/20; B.A. 1623/4; M.A. 1627. Came from London to Massachusetts Bay in 1635 on the Defence (on 2 Jul 1635, "husbandman John [sic] Sheppard," aged 36, "Margaret Sheppard," aged 31, & "Tho[mas] Shappard," aged 3 mos.. were enrolled at London as passengers for New England on the Defence).
Died 25 Aug 1649, in the 44th year of his age. (This was also the date of his nuncupative will. John Hull gives an earlier date, which must be incorrect. "24th, 6th [August] 1649. Mr. Thomas Shepard, pastor of Cambridge church, died, a zealous & pious preacher." Thomas Shepard was buried at Cambridge on 28 Aug 1649.
Married (1) Buttercrambe, Yorkshire, 23 Jul 1632, Margaret Touteville. She died at Cambridge in spring 1636.
Married (2) by 1638 Joanna Hooker, daughter of THOMAS HOOKER {1633, Cambridge}. She was buried at Cambridge on 28 Apr 1646.
Married (3) 8 Sep 1647, Margaret Borodell. She married (2) at Cambridge on 19 Nov 1650, Jonathan Mitchell, son of MATTHEW MITCHELL {1635, Charlestown}.
Thomas Shepard was brother of SAMUEL SHEPARD {1935, Cambridge}.
LIFE
Shepard was born in Towcester, Northamptonshire. His devout mother died when he was four and he lived a difficult life under his stepmother. His father died when he reached ten, at which point he lived with his grandparents and later an older brother, whom he held in high and grateful regard. A schoolmaster ignited in him a scholarly interest, which ultimately led to entry into Emmanuel College in Cambridge University at the age of fifteen.[1] He accounts in his autobiography that he lived a dissatisfied and dissolute life, which led him to pray out in a nearby field, at which point he underwent the beginnings of a conversion experience.
In 1627 he became assistant schoolmaster at Earls Colne Grammar School in Earls Colne, Essex. He became a minister whose sermons and Puritan ways drew the ire of Church of England Archbishop William Laud, and he was forbidden to preach. Following the death of his eldest son, he left England in 1635 with wife and younger son on a difficult voyage for Massachusetts in colonial America. His wife died thereafter, as did his second wife and other children, though he framed these experiences, if not without difficulty, into the perspective of his theology.
Shepard died of quinsy, a Peritonsillar abscess, which is a complication of tonsillitis at the age of 44.
LEGACY
Shepard was regarded as one of the foremost Puritan ministers of his day, esteemed in the company of individuals like Richard Mather and John Cotton. He took special interest in Puritan ministry to the Massachusetts Native Americans. His written legacy includes an autobiography and numerous sermons, which in some measure of contrast with others of his day, tended to accent God as an accessible and welcoming figure in the individual life. Today a plaque at Harvard University, in the words of Cotton Mather, records that it was in consideration of the salutary effect of Shepard's ministry that the college ultimately came to be placed in "Newtowne", known today as Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Three of Shepard's sons followed him into the ministry; Thomas Shepard II, Samuel Shepard, and Jeremiah Shepard. Thomas Shepard II was an ancestor of U.S. Presidents John Quincy Adams and Franklin D. Roosevelt.∼Born in Towchester, Northamptionshire, 5 Nov 1604, son of William Shepard. Attended the Free School of Towchester from about 1614 to 1619. Admitted pensioner at Emmanuel College, Cambridge on 10 Feb 1619/20; B.A. 1623/4; M.A. 1627. Came from London to Massachusetts Bay in 1635 on the Defence (on 2 Jul 1635, "husbandman John [sic] Sheppard," aged 36, "Margaret Sheppard," aged 31, & "Tho[mas] Shappard," aged 3 mos.. were enrolled at London as passengers for New England on the Defence).
Died 25 Aug 1649, in the 44th year of his age. (This was also the date of his nuncupative will. John Hull gives an earlier date, which must be incorrect. "24th, 6th [August] 1649. Mr. Thomas Shepard, pastor of Cambridge church, died, a zealous & pious preacher." Thomas Shepard was buried at Cambridge on 28 Aug 1649.
Married (1) Buttercrambe, Yorkshire, 23 Jul 1632, Margaret Touteville. She died at Cambridge in spring 1636.
Married (2) by 1638 Joanna Hooker, daughter of THOMAS HOOKER {1633, Cambridge}. She was buried at Cambridge on 28 Apr 1646.
Married (3) 8 Sep 1647, Margaret Borodell. She married (2) at Cambridge on 19 Nov 1650, Jonathan Mitchell, son of MATTHEW MITCHELL {1635, Charlestown}.
Thomas Shepard was brother of SAMUEL SHEPARD {1935, Cambridge}.
Thomas Shepard (November 5, 1605 – August 25, 1649) was an American Puritan minister and a significant figure in early colonial New England.
LIFE
Shepard was born in Towcester, Northamptonshire. His devout mother died when he was four and he lived a difficult life under his stepmother. His father died when he reached ten, at which point he lived with his grandparents and later an older brother, whom he held in high and grateful regard. A schoolmaster ignited in him a scholarly interest, which ultimately led to entry into Emmanuel College in Cambridge University at the age of fifteen.[1] He accounts in his autobiography that he lived a dissatisfied and dissolute life, which led him to pray out in a nearby field, at which point he underwent the beginnings of a conversion experience.
In 1627 he became assistant schoolmaster at Earls Colne Grammar School in Earls Colne, Essex. He became a minister whose sermons and Puritan ways drew the ire of Church of England Archbishop William Laud, and he was forbidden to preach. Following the death of his eldest son, he left England in 1635 with wife and younger son on a difficult voyage for Massachusetts in colonial America. His wife died thereafter, as did his second wife and other children, though he framed these experiences, if not without difficulty, into the perspective of his theology.
Shepard died of quinsy, a Peritonsillar abscess, which is a complication of tonsillitis at the age of 44.
LEGACY
Shepard was regarded as one of the foremost Puritan ministers of his day, esteemed in the company of individuals like Richard Mather and John Cotton. He took special interest in Puritan ministry to the Massachusetts Native Americans. His written legacy includes an autobiography and numerous sermons, which in some measure of contrast with others of his day, tended to accent God as an accessible and welcoming figure in the individual life. Today a plaque at Harvard University, in the words of Cotton Mather, records that it was in consideration of the salutary effect of Shepard's ministry that the college ultimately came to be placed in "Newtowne", known today as Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Three of Shepard's sons followed him into the ministry; Thomas Shepard II, Samuel Shepard, and Jeremiah Shepard. Thomas Shepard II was an ancestor of U.S. Presidents John Quincy Adams and Franklin D. Roosevelt.∼Born in Towchester, Northamptionshire, 5 Nov 1604, son of William Shepard. Attended the Free School of Towchester from about 1614 to 1619. Admitted pensioner at Emmanuel College, Cambridge on 10 Feb 1619/20; B.A. 1623/4; M.A. 1627. Came from London to Massachusetts Bay in 1635 on the Defence (on 2 Jul 1635, "husbandman John [sic] Sheppard," aged 36, "Margaret Sheppard," aged 31, & "Tho[mas] Shappard," aged 3 mos.. were enrolled at London as passengers for New England on the Defence).
Died 25 Aug 1649, in the 44th year of his age. (This was also the date of his nuncupative will. John Hull gives an earlier date, which must be incorrect. "24th, 6th [August] 1649. Mr. Thomas Shepard, pastor of Cambridge church, died, a zealous & pious preacher." Thomas Shepard was buried at Cambridge on 28 Aug 1649.
Married (1) Buttercrambe, Yorkshire, 23 Jul 1632, Margaret Touteville. She died at Cambridge in spring 1636.
Married (2) by 1638 Joanna Hooker, daughter of THOMAS HOOKER {1633, Cambridge}. She was buried at Cambridge on 28 Apr 1646.
Married (3) 8 Sep 1647, Margaret Borodell. She married (2) at Cambridge on 19 Nov 1650, Jonathan Mitchell, son of MATTHEW MITCHELL {1635, Charlestown}.
Thomas Shepard was brother of SAMUEL SHEPARD {1935, Cambridge}.
LIFE
Shepard was born in Towcester, Northamptonshire. His devout mother died when he was four and he lived a difficult life under his stepmother. His father died when he reached ten, at which point he lived with his grandparents and later an older brother, whom he held in high and grateful regard. A schoolmaster ignited in him a scholarly interest, which ultimately led to entry into Emmanuel College in Cambridge University at the age of fifteen.[1] He accounts in his autobiography that he lived a dissatisfied and dissolute life, which led him to pray out in a nearby field, at which point he underwent the beginnings of a conversion experience.
In 1627 he became assistant schoolmaster at Earls Colne Grammar School in Earls Colne, Essex. He became a minister whose sermons and Puritan ways drew the ire of Church of England Archbishop William Laud, and he was forbidden to preach. Following the death of his eldest son, he left England in 1635 with wife and younger son on a difficult voyage for Massachusetts in colonial America. His wife died thereafter, as did his second wife and other children, though he framed these experiences, if not without difficulty, into the perspective of his theology.
Shepard died of quinsy, a Peritonsillar abscess, which is a complication of tonsillitis at the age of 44.
LEGACY
Shepard was regarded as one of the foremost Puritan ministers of his day, esteemed in the company of individuals like Richard Mather and John Cotton. He took special interest in Puritan ministry to the Massachusetts Native Americans. His written legacy includes an autobiography and numerous sermons, which in some measure of contrast with others of his day, tended to accent God as an accessible and welcoming figure in the individual life. Today a plaque at Harvard University, in the words of Cotton Mather, records that it was in consideration of the salutary effect of Shepard's ministry that the college ultimately came to be placed in "Newtowne", known today as Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Three of Shepard's sons followed him into the ministry; Thomas Shepard II, Samuel Shepard, and Jeremiah Shepard. Thomas Shepard II was an ancestor of U.S. Presidents John Quincy Adams and Franklin D. Roosevelt.∼Born in Towchester, Northamptionshire, 5 Nov 1604, son of William Shepard. Attended the Free School of Towchester from about 1614 to 1619. Admitted pensioner at Emmanuel College, Cambridge on 10 Feb 1619/20; B.A. 1623/4; M.A. 1627. Came from London to Massachusetts Bay in 1635 on the Defence (on 2 Jul 1635, "husbandman John [sic] Sheppard," aged 36, "Margaret Sheppard," aged 31, & "Tho[mas] Shappard," aged 3 mos.. were enrolled at London as passengers for New England on the Defence).
Died 25 Aug 1649, in the 44th year of his age. (This was also the date of his nuncupative will. John Hull gives an earlier date, which must be incorrect. "24th, 6th [August] 1649. Mr. Thomas Shepard, pastor of Cambridge church, died, a zealous & pious preacher." Thomas Shepard was buried at Cambridge on 28 Aug 1649.
Married (1) Buttercrambe, Yorkshire, 23 Jul 1632, Margaret Touteville. She died at Cambridge in spring 1636.
Married (2) by 1638 Joanna Hooker, daughter of THOMAS HOOKER {1633, Cambridge}. She was buried at Cambridge on 28 Apr 1646.
Married (3) 8 Sep 1647, Margaret Borodell. She married (2) at Cambridge on 19 Nov 1650, Jonathan Mitchell, son of MATTHEW MITCHELL {1635, Charlestown}.
Thomas Shepard was brother of SAMUEL SHEPARD {1935, Cambridge}.
