Eleanor (Henry) Radford (1667 - 1697)

Born 1667 in Iscoyd, Flintshire, Wales

Ancestors

Wife of Samuel Radford — married 1688 in England

Descendants

Died 1697 at about age 30 in Newington Green, Islington, Middlesex, England

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Biography

Eleanor Henry was born in 1667 in her mother's home, Broad Oak, Iscoyd, Flintshire, Wales, Great Britain. She was the 3rd daughter and 5th child of Katherine Matthews and her husband, Rev. Philip Henry, M.A. Oxford, an eminent Calvinist (Presbyterian) clergyman, who gave up his lifetime incumbency in Worthenbury, Flintshire, Wales, in 1662, rather than accept the newly-voted "Act of Conformity" that forcibly reunited Britain's Presbyterian and Episcopal Anglican Churches under the Archbishop of Canterbury and Church of England, with the Book of Common Prayer. Rev. Henry and two thousand like-minded "Dissenting" clergymen were forced out of their churches as part of these reforms put in place when King Charles II restored the English monarchy after the death of Britain's Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell.^[1]

Rev. Henry and his wife, whose family were landowners in Iscoyd, Flintshire, Wales, retired there, raising their family of 6 children, including their only living son, Rev. Matthew Henry, a "Dissenter" like his father and erudite author and commentator on the Gospels.

In late 1688 Eleanor Henry married Samuel Radford, of Chester, an English industrialist. They lived most of their married life in Newington Green, Hackney, Middlesex, England, a northern suburb of London. The couple had a son and three daughters there: ^[2]

1. Daniel Radford, b: ca. 1689; became a Warehouseman in London, m: Mary Harris, 1 daughter: Mary Radford, b: 1735
2. Mary Radford, b: ca. 1691; m: John Mitchell of London
3. Katharine Radford, b: ca. 1693; m: James Bingham of Derby
4. Sarah Radford, b: ca. 1695; d: Single in Newington Green

Eleanor Radford died in 1697 at Newington Green, Middlesex, England. Her husband survived her passing but also passed away in 1699 at Newington Green. Their 4 children, all under-age in 1699, were taken in by their married maternal uncle, Rev. Matthew Henry, who lived and wrote in Chester, Cheshire, England.

Sources

1. ↑ Samuel Sharpe, Egyptologist and translator of the Bible..., by Peter William Clayden, see pp. 19-20 Archive.org edition (pp. 12-13 actual text).
2. ↑ The Descendants of Philip Henry, M.A., Incumbent of Worthenbury..., by Sarah Lawrence, a 5th degree descendant. See pg. 48.

• Burial Record. Eleanor Radford. 16 Aug 1697. Chester, Cheshire. Spouse: Saml Radford. Ancestry Record 60496 #1676441
• Samuel Sharpe, Egyptologist and Translator of the Bible..., by Peter William Claydon. See pp. 19-20 that discusses Eleanor (Henry) Radford and her family. States her birth, marriage and death years. Mentions the couple had a son, Daniel Radford, and three daughters. They were all under-age when their parents died: Eleanor (Henry) Radford in 1696 and Samuel Radford in 1699, and were raised by their maternal uncle, Rev. Matthew Henry.

• The Descendants of Philip Henry, M.A., Incumbent of Worthenbury..., pg. 48. States Samuel Radford "of Chester," was born in 1658 and died in 1699. Eleanor (Henry) Radford died in 1696.

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Gordon Simpkinson for creating WikiTree profile Henry-2168 through the import of Simpkinson 20100522.ged on Feb 22, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Gordon and others.

• Thank you to Chet Snow who researched this family and wrote this biographical sketch, adding sources, on August 6, 2019.