Thomas Ellwood (1639 - 1713)

Born 1639 in Crowell, Oxfordshire, England

Husband of Mary (Ellis) Ellwood — married 28 Oct 1669 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England

Died 1 May 1713 at about age 74 in Hunger Hill, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England

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Biography

Thomas Ellwood is Notable.

Thomas was a Friend (Quaker)

Thomas Ellwood was born in 1639 and baptised on 15 Oct 1639 at Crowell, Oxfordshire, England. He was the son of Walter Ellwood and Elizabeth Potman.^[1] His father was a Puritan Justice of the Peace.^[2]

From 1642 to 1646 the Ellwood family lived in London. Mary Springett, widow of Sir William Springett, was a friend of the Ellwoods while they lived in London, and her daughter Gulielma (who would later marry William Penn, founder of Pennsylvannia) was often Thomas's playmate in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Mary Springett later married Isaac Pennington and the families remained close.^[3]

Thomas Ellwood was educated at Thame Grammar School (Lord Williams's School) but his education was cut short by his father who had spent too much on his elder son Walter Ellwood. Thomas completed his education in London with assistance from the Penningtons. Thomas also studied with John Milton, and became a personal friend of the poet.^[2][3]

In 1659 Thomas Ellwood and his father visited Isaac Pennington and his family at Chalfont St. Peter in Buckinghamshire. Young Ellwood and his father found that the Penningtons had lately become quakers and after a subsequent meetings Thomas was converted but this caused friction with his father.^[3]

Thomas Ellwood was the first Clerk of the Monthly Meeting of Upperside, Buckinghamshire which was formed in 1668. The meeting frequently met at his home "Hunger Hill" in Coleshill parish near Amersham. Most of the entries of the "Minute Book of the Monthly Meeting of Upperside, Buckinghamshire 1669-1690" are in his hand.^[2]

Thomas Ellwood married Mary Ellis, a Friend sixteen years older than him, on 28 Oct 1669 at Agmondisham, Hertfordshire (Amersham, Buckinghamshire). They did not have any children.^[2][4]

Thomas Ellwood was the author of several polemical works in defence of the Quaker position. He also published some volumes of poems. His autobiography, The History of the Life of Thomas Ellwood: written by his own hand, published posthumously, is a valuable historical document although it only covers the period up to July 1683.

Thomas Ellwood of Coleshill died on the first day of third month of 1713 (1 May 1713 new style). He was buried at New Jordans, Giles Chalfont, Buckinghamshire (now known as the Old Burial Ground at Jordans Quaker Meeting House) along with other famous Quaker families such as the Penns and Penningtons.^[5][6]

Sources

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N5BW-M4V : 11 February 2018, Thomas Ellwood, 15 Oct 1639); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 95,236. Image https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNR-R9Z1-H?i=6
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} "Minute Book of the Monthly Meeting of Upperside, Buckinghamshire 1669-1690". Available from the Buckinghamshire Record Society. http://www.bucksrecsoc.org.uk/BRS-VOLUMES/brs-vol-01.pdf
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} "Ellwood, Thomas". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. Wikisource https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ellwood,_Thomas_(DNB00)
4. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJZ1-SNR : 10 February 2018), Thomas Ellwood and Mary Ellis, 28 Oct 1669; citing Agmondisham, Hertford, England, reference v 168 p 11, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 583,993. Image https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L964-X8TG?i=129
5. ↑ "England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JC6T-Q8D : 10 February 2018), Thomas Ellwood, burial ; citing New Jordens, Giles Chalfont, Bucks, England, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 583,993. Image https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-9964-XCZY?i=345
6. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVV9-1Q6P : 26 July 2019), Thomas Ellwood; Burial, Jordans, Chiltern District, Buckinghamshire, England, Old Jordans Cemetery; Find A Grave: Memorial #5887944

See also:

• Thomas Ellwood. The History of Thomas Ellwood written by himself, with an introduction by Henry Morley, Routledge, 1885, Internet Archive
• "Thomas Ellwood - Friend of Friends" by Wendy Tibbitts. Amersham Museum. https://amershammuseum.org/history/people/17th-18th-centuries/thomas-ellwood/
• Wikipedia contributors, "Thomas Ellwood," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Ellwood (accessed October 24, 2019).
• Wikidata: Item Q2595492, en:Wikipedia