Samuel Thomas (non-juror)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Thomas was an English nonjuring
clergyman and controversialist.
, Somerset
, he was the son of William Thomas (1593–1667), rector of Ubley. He graduated B.A. from Peterhouse, Cambridge
, in 1649, and was incorporated at Oxford on 20 August 1651. He became a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford
and graduated M.A. on 17 December 1651, being incorporated at Cambridge in 1663.
In 1660 he was deprived of his fellowship by the royal commissioners, and was soon after made a chaplain or petty canon of Christ Church, Oxford
where in 1672 he became a chantor. He was also vicar of St. Thomas's at Oxford, and afterwards curate of Holywell. In 1681 he became vicar of Chard
in Somerset
, and on 3 August of the same year was appointed to the prebend of Compton Bishop in the see of Bath and Wells.
On the accession of William and Mary
, Thomas was one of those who refused to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and he was in consequence deprived of his prebend in 1691, and in the following year of the vicarage of Chard. He died at Chard on 4 November 1693, and was buried in the chancel of the parish church.
Thomas also wrote a preface to Tomkins's ‘New Distemper,’ in which he assailed Richard Baxter and other nonconformists.
Nonjuring schism
The nonjuring schism was a split in the Church of England in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, over whether William of Orange and his wife Mary could legally be recognised as King and Queen of England....
clergyman and controversialist.
Life
Born at UbleyUbley
Ubley is a small village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in Bath and North East Somerset about south of Bristol and from Bath. It is just south-east of Blagdon Lake on the A368 between Compton Martin and Blagdon.-History:...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, he was the son of William Thomas (1593–1667), rector of Ubley. He graduated B.A. from Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
, in 1649, and was incorporated at Oxford on 20 August 1651. He became a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
and graduated M.A. on 17 December 1651, being incorporated at Cambridge in 1663.
In 1660 he was deprived of his fellowship by the royal commissioners, and was soon after made a chaplain or petty canon of Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
where in 1672 he became a chantor. He was also vicar of St. Thomas's at Oxford, and afterwards curate of Holywell. In 1681 he became vicar of Chard
Chard
Chard , is a leafy green vegetable often used in Mediterranean cooking. While the leaves are always green, chard stalks vary in color. Chard has been bred to have highly nutrious leaves at the expense of the root...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, and on 3 August of the same year was appointed to the prebend of Compton Bishop in the see of Bath and Wells.
On the accession of William and Mary
William and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...
, Thomas was one of those who refused to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and he was in consequence deprived of his prebend in 1691, and in the following year of the vicarage of Chard. He died at Chard on 4 November 1693, and was buried in the chancel of the parish church.
Works
Thomas was the author of:- ‘The Presbyterians Unmask'd, or Animadversions upon a Nonconformist Book called the Interest of England in the Matter of Religion,’ London, 1676; republished in 1681 under the title ‘The Dissenters Disarmed,’ without the preface, as a second part to the ‘New Distemper’ of Thomas Tomkins. The ‘Interest of England in the Matter of Religion’ was written by John Corbet. Richard BaxterRichard BaxterRichard Baxter was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymn-writer, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he made his reputation by his ministry at Kidderminster, and at around the same time began a long...
termed Thomas's reply ‘a bloody invective.’ - ‘The Charge of Schism renewed against the Separatists,’ London, 1680. A pamphlet written in reply to ‘An Answer to Dr. Stillingfleet's Sermon on the Mischief of Separation’ by Stephen LobbStephen LobbStephen Lobb was an English nonconformist minister and controversialist. He was prominent in the 1680s as a court representative of the Independents to James II, and in the 1690s in polemics between the Presbyterian and Independent groups of nonconformists...
and John HumfreyJohn HumfreyJohn Humfrey was an English clergyman, an ejected minister from 1662 and controversialist active in the Presbyterian cause.-Life:...
. - ‘Remarks on the Preface to the Protestant Reconciler [by Daniel WhitbyDaniel WhitbyDaniel Whitby was a controversial English theologian and biblical commentator. An Arminian priest in the Church of England, Whitby was known as strongly anti-Calvinistic and later gave evidence of strong Arian and Unitarian tendencies....
] in a Letter to a Friend,’ London, 1683.
Thomas also wrote a preface to Tomkins's ‘New Distemper,’ in which he assailed Richard Baxter and other nonconformists.