Elizabeth (Snowden) Hooton (abt. 1602 - 1672)

Born about 1602 in Nottinghamshire, England [uncertain]

Wife of Oliver Hooten — married 17 Jul 1632 in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, England

Descendants

Died 8 Jan 1672 at about age 70 in Jamaica

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Biography

Elizabeth (Snowden) Hooton was born in Nottinghamshire, England.

Elizabeth was a Friend (Quaker)

Elizabeth was born about 1602, presumably in Nottinghamshire. (See notes for possible parents).

On 17 July 1632 Elizabeth married Oliver Hooton in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire^[1]. Edwinstowe is one mile west of Ollerton where Oliver lived and where he had married and buried his first wife, Elizabeth Carrier, together with their newborn son.

Their first child, Samuel, was born a year later in Ollerton^[2] and their next son, Oliver the year after that.

They must've moved to Skegby, near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, ten miles WSW in about 1635 because their following children are born in that village.

Little more is known of Elizabeth until her encounter with George Fox. Fox was imprisoned in Derby in 1650. His preaching there must have been effective for many people joined the new sect, among them Elizabeth Hooton.

Elizabeth was put in prison in 1651^[3]: ANNO 1651: In this Year Elizabeth Hooton, a zealous Woman, and faid to be the firft of that Sex who preached publickly among the Quakers, was caft into Prifon at Derby. She was early convinced by the Miniitry of George Fox, and began to preach about the Year 1650. The Caufe of her Imprifonment was her fpeaking to one of the Priefts there, who fo refented her Reproof, that he applied to the Magiftrate to punifh her. For it is common with Men who moft deferve Reprehenfion, to be moft offended with thofe who adminifter it.

Elizabeth was involved with the Beckingham Quakers.

In 1654, Elizabeth is imprisoned for five months for disrupting the church services at Beckingham to preach the Quaker faith^[4]. The firft Sufferer among this People in this County was Elizabeth Hooton, who for bearing her Teftimony to the Truth in the Place of publick Worfhip at Beckingham was imprifoned five Months.

Undeterred, upon her release in 1655 she repeated the act and was sent to gaol for twelve weeks. The faid Elizabeth Hooton was again imprifoned twelve Weeks for exhorting the People to Repentance.

Elizabeth made several journeys to the American colonies to preach. She embarked on her final voyage in 1670, joining George Fox on a trip to the West Indies and the American continent. The purpose of the trip was to encourage Friends in the New World. A week after arriving in Jamaica in 1672, Elizabeth died peacefully of natural causes.

George Fox described her passing: "... Elizabeth Hooton, a woman of great age, who had travelled much in Truth's service, and suffered much for it, departed this life. She was well the day before she died, and departed in peace, like a lamb, bearing testimony to Truth at her departure."

Research Notes

Parentage

There are three Elizabeth Snowdens born in this part of Nottinghamshire within ten years of each other:

• Southwell, baptised 19 August 1602, daughter of Doctor Snowden
• Worksop, baptised 2 October 1603, daughter of John Snowden
• Mansfield, baptised 9 April 1609, Daughter of Humphrey Snowden

The last of these may be a little young to tie in with her description of being middle aged when she meets George Fox in 1647 and of being of great age when she dies.

Snowden vs. Carrier

A number of historical biographies of Elizabeth suggest that she was born Elizabeth Carrier. The confusion arises due to the presence of two marriages between Oliver Hooten/Hooton and women named Elizabeth in a four year period. The correct position can be now be clarified as follows:

1. Oliver Hooten marries Elizabeth Carrier at Ollerton on 11 May 1628
2. John Hooton s/o Oliver is baptised at Ollerton on 2 May 1629
3. John Hooton is buried at Ollerton on 3 May 1629
4. Elizabeth Hooton is buried at Ollerton on 4 May 1629
5. Oliver Hooton marries Elizabeth Snowden at Edwinstowe on 17 Jul 1632

The obvious explanation being that the two Olivers are the same person and that the two Elizabeths are his first and second wives.

Sewel's History of the Quakers

A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE SUFFERINGS OF ELIZABETH HOOTEN

1661 , Boston

A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE SUFFERINGS OF ELIZABETH HOOTEN, AS RELATED IN SEWEL'S HISTORY OF THE QUAKERS, 383-385. The usage Elizabeth Hooten met with, I can't pass by in silence, because of her age, being about sixty, who hearing of the wickedness committed by those of New-England, was moved to make a voyage to America. In order thereto she went from England in the [p.178]year 1661, having one Joan Broksup with her, a woman near as aged as herself, who freely resolved to be her companion: and because they could not find a master of a ship that was willing to carry them to New-England, because of the fine for every Quaker that was brought thither, they set sail towards Virginia, where they met with a ketch which carried them part of the way, and then they went the rest by land, and so at length came to Boston. But there they could not soon find a place of reception, because of the penalty on those that received a Quaker into their houses. Yet at length a woman received them. Next day they went to the prison to visit their friends; but the gaoler altogether unwilling to let them in, carried them to the Governor Endicot, who, with much scurrilous language, called them 'witches,' and asked Elizabeth, 'what she came for?' to which she answered, 'To do the will of him that sent me.' And he demanded, 'what was that?' she replied, 'To warn thee of shedding any more innocent blood.' To which he returned, 'that he would hang more yet;' but she told him, 'he was in the hand of the Lord, who could take him away first.' This so displeased him, that he sent them to prison, where many more of their friends were. After consultation what to do with them, they were carried two days' journey into the wilderness, among wolves and bears: but by Providence they got to Rhode-Island, where they took ship for Barbados, and from thence to New-England [p.179]again, and so they returned to Boston. But then they were put into a ship which carried them to Virginia, from whence Elizabeth departed to Old England, where she staid some time in her own habitation. But it came upon her to visit New-England again; and so she did, taking her daughter Elizabeth along with her. And being arrived, those of the magistrates that were present, would have fined the master of the ship an hundred pounds for bringing her over contrary to their law. But he telling them, that Elizabeth had been with the king, and that she had liberty from him to come thither to buy her a house, this so puzzled these snarling persecutors, that they found themselves at a loss, and thus were stopped from seizing the master's goods. Elizabeth being come to Boston, notwithstanding the rulers, went to them, and signified that sho came thither 'to buy a house for herself to live in.' She was four times at the court for that purpose, but it was denied her: and though she said, 'that this denial would give her occasion, if she went to England again, to lay it before the king,' it was in vain, and had no influence upon them. Departing then, and passing through several places, she came to Cambridge, and was thrust into a stinking dungeon, where there was nothing to lie down on or sit on. Here they kept her two days and two nights, without affording her anything to eat or drink; and because a certain [p.180]man in compassion brought her a little milk, he was also cast into prison, and fined five pounds. Being brought to the court, they ordered her to be sent out of their coasts, and to be whipped at three towns, with ten stripes at each. So at Cambridge she was tied to the whipping-post, and lashed with ten stripes, with a three-stringed whip, with three knots at an end: At Watertown she had ten stripes more with willow rods; and to make up all, at Dedham, in a cold frosty morning, she received ten cruel lashes at a cart's tail. And being thus beaten and torn, she was put on horse-back, and carried many miles into the wilderness; and towards night they left her there, where were many wolves, bears, and other wild beasts, and many deep waters to pass through: but being preserved by an invisible hand, she came in the morning into a town called Rehoboth, being neither weary nor faint; and from thence she went to Rhode-Island, where coming to her friends, she gave thanks to God, for having counted her worthy, and enabled her to suffer for his name-sake, beyond what her age and sex, morally speaking, could otherwise have borne. After some stay there, she returned to Cambridge, about eighty miles, to fetch her linen and clothes, which the inhuman persecutors would not suffer her to take with her when they had whipped her. Having fetched these things, and going back with her daughter and Sarah Coleman, an ancient woman, she was taken up by the [p.181]constable of Charlestown, and carried prisoner to Cambridge; where being asked by one of the magistrates whose name was Daniel Goggin, 'wherefore she came thither, seeing they had warned her not to come there any more:' she answered, 'that she came not there of her own accord, but was forced thither; after she had been to fetch her clothes, which they would not let her take with her when she was whipped, and sent away; but that now returning back she was taken up by force out of the highway, and carried thither.' Then the other old woman was asked, 'whether she owned Elizabeth and her religion?' to which she answered, 'she owned the Truth.' And of Elizabeth's daughter he demanded, 'Dost thou own thy mother's religion?' To which she was silent. And yet they were sent to the house of correction, with order to be whipped. Next morning the executioner came betimes before it was light, and asked them, 'whether they would be whipped there?' which made Elizabeth ask, 'whether he was come to take away their blood in the dark? ' and 'whether they were ashamed that their deeds should be seen:' But not heeding what she said, he took her down stairs, and whipped her with a three-stringed whip. Then he brought down the ancient woman, and did the like to her. And taking Elizabeth's daughter he gave the like to her also, who never was there before, nor had said or done anything. After this Elizabeth the mother was whipped again at a cart's-tail at Boston and other places, where she [p.182]came to see her friends; since which I have several times seen her in England in a good condition. ORDER FOR SENDING QUAKERS OUT OF THE JURISDICTION. Jtt is Ordered that all the Quakers now in prison. except the persons Condemned to be whipt be acquainted wth the new lawe made against them and forthwith released from prison and sent from Constable to Constable out of this Jurisdiction and Jf they or any of them be found after twelve howres wthin the same he or they shall be proceeded wth according to the lawe made this present Court. The magists haue past this wth Reference to the Consent of theire brethren the depts hereto EDW RAWSON Secret 7 June, 1661.

Quakers

1661 , New Enland

It is commonly understood that the Quakers constantly interrupted the religious meetings and the famous Thursday lecture of the Puritans, but this is an error started by some malicious or careless commentator and greedily adopted by others. In rare instances, such as the one Hutchinson relates, they may have done so; but both Puritan and Quaker records prove that the Friends, as a rule, waited until service had ended, before delivering their testimony, and tim same witnesses prove that instead of being impelled by an "aimless spirit of annoyance" to address church congregations, they were inspired by an enlightened distrust of religious ordinances and Christian ministration that fostered superstition, dogmatism, and persecution. When they attempted to hold their own meetings, they were violently assaulted, their houses were invaded, and they were haled before the magistrates. A very large number of the arrests, of which there is any report, were [p.96]made because Friends refused to attend church and bravely maintained their right to hold meetings of their own. Edmund Batter, the two Archers, Benjamin Felton, Henry Skerry?all church-members?and Thomas Roots, are named by Bishop as the "bloody huntsmen" who made themselves especially prominent in ferreting out Quaker meetings and dragging the "cursed heretics" to judgment. The Quakers were persecuted and goaded into going to the sanctuary of these inquisitors, and, when meeting or lecture was over, protesting against such outrages and the wickedness of both Christian ministers and the religion that sanctioned them. A careful search shows that in two instances the Friends enforced their righteous protests by the unique method of breaking bottles. Two women, Sarah Gibbons and Dorothy Waugh, went through this dramatic performance in "2d Month, 1658," in the presence of John Norton, "as a sign of his emptiness." Both of them had been, previously, the victims of persecution. In 1663, Thomas Newhouse, another sufferer, bore his testimony in the same manner, crying out, "So they should be dashed in pieces." Newhouse subsequently [p.97]fell from grace, and was disowned as an apostate by more sober Friends, to whom he was a frequent source of trouble.|R1|r When Wenlock Christison was on trial for his life, in 1661, Catherine Chattam attended court, appropriately clothed in sackcloth and ashes. It is reported, also, that Elizabeth Hooten, who came here with an express permit from the King to purchase property and to become a resident, but was refused permission to do so by the authorities, was arrested as a "vagabond" and barbarously whipped for crying aloud, "Repent," in the streets of Cambridge. Old records and authorities contain these and a few other illustrations of what are known as the extravagances of the Quakers; but instead of bristling all over with them as Puritan apologists would have us believe, it is impossible to find any considerable number, and the few that are to be found are readily traced to the persecution. Some of the more familiar instances are counted as men in buckram by the excited imaginations [p.98]of writers, who magnify their number to a degree that would honor Falstaff.

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVZ7-HPD
2. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N5YC-MPJ
3. ↑ https://archive.org/details/collectionofsuff01bess/page/136
4. ↑ https://archive.org/details/collectionofsuff01bess/page/346

• Ollerton Parish Registers, Hathi Trust
• Edwinstowe Parish Registers
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Hooten [Hooton; née Carrier], Elizabeth', print and online 2004, available online via some libraries
• Wikipedia: Elizabeth Hooton
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, vol. 27, entry for 'Hooten, Elizabeth', Wikisource
• Wikipedia:Elizabeth_Hooton
• Cropper, Percy. The Sufferings of the Quakers in Nottinghamshire, 1649-1689 (Edward Hicks, London, 1892)

• Page viii: "Elizabeth Hooton formally received the gift of the ministry in 1650, although she probably preached earlier. In 1651 she was imprisoned at Derby, in 1652 at York, in 1654 at Lincoln. In 1661 she sailed for America, and in the following year was imprisoned at Boston, and afterwards carried two days' journey into the forest, and left to starve. She managed to escape, and, making her way to Rhode Island, journeyed to Barbadoes, and thence to England. Armed with a license from Charles II. to settle in America, she returned to Boston and Cambridge, where she was imprisoned and publicly whipped with great severity in the depth of winter, and again carried into the forest and left. Finding her way out, she reached Cambridge, only to be subject to further brutality. Returning to England, she resumed her itinerancy, suffering imprisonment at Lincoln in 1665. In 1671 she formed one of the party who accompanied Fox to the plantations of America. After visiting Barbadoes, the Friends sailed to Jamaica on the 15th, 11th mo., having a quick voyage. About a week after their arrival there, "Elizabeth Hooton, a woman of great age, and who had travelled much in truth's service, and suffered much for it, departed this life. She was well the day before she died; and departed in peace, like a lamb, bearing testimony to truth at her departure."

• Edmundson, William. A Journal of William Edmundson (London, 1715) Page 56-57. His trip to Jamaica with Elizabeth Hooton, and her death, is recorded in his journal.