John Lothropp

John Lothropp (also Lothrop or Lathrop; 1584–1653) was an English Anglican clergyman, who became a Congregationalist minister and emigrant to New England. He was the founder of Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Early life

Lothropp was born in Etton, East Riding of Yorkshire. He was baptised in 20 December 1584. He attended Queens' College, Cambridge, where he matriculated in 1601, graduated with a BA in 1605, and with an MA in 1609.^[1]

Minister in England

He was ordained in the Church of England and appointed curate of a local parish in Egerton, Kent. In 1623 he renounced his orders and joined the cause of the Independents. Lothropp gained prominence in 1624, when he was called to replace Reverend Henry Jacob as the pastor of the First Independent Church in London, a congregation of sixty members which met at Southwark. Church historians sometimes call this church the Jacob-Lathrop-Jessey (JLJ^[2]) Church, named for its first three pastors, Henry Jacob, John Lothropp and Henry Jessey.

They were forced to meet in private to avoid the scrutiny of Bishop of London William Laud. Following the group's discovery on 22 April 1632 by officers of the king, forty-two of Lothropp's Independents were arrested. Only eighteen escaped capture. The arrested were prosecuted for failure to take the oath of loyalty to the established church. Evidence gleaned by the historians Burrage and Kiffin and from the Jesse records indicate many were jailed in The Clink prison. As for Reverend John Lothropp, the question is still unresolved. English historian Samuel Rawson Gardiner whose book, Reports of Cases in the Courts of Star Chamber and High Commission, gives an account of the courtroom trial and cites information from the trial record that the convicted dissenters were to be divided up and sent to various prisons. Historian E. B. Huntington suggests Lothropp was incarcerated in either the Clink or Newgate.

A plaque in the Lothrop Hill Cemetery in Barnstable, Massachusetts, the town which John Lothropp settled and where he died, states he was incarcerated in Newgate Prison durng the years 1632-1634. The National Archives at London which would hold the records for Newgate Prison indicate they have nothing earlier than 1770. The lack of documentation is attributable to the Great London Fire (1666), the Gordon Riots (1780), and the fact that upon the abolition of the Star Chamber in 1641, the court proceedings of the reign of Charles I deteriorated and failed to survive. A report to the Lords in 1719 noted that those documents were "in a very great heap, undigested, and without any covering from dust or security from rats and mice. "As for records of the Clink, the National Archives indicates they would be held at the London Metropolitan Archives, but those records start from 1690. The National Archives states that records from these earlier times are also not complete due to the fact that they were not created or kept for research purposes, but for use by the government or law courts of the day. Further, it may be that Lothropp actually served time in both prisons since it was customary to move prisoners from one prison to another due to space availability. In the end, the precise location of Lothropp's imprisonment is not confirmable from primary documentation.

While Lothropp was in prison, his wife Hannah House became ill and died. His six surviving children were according to tradition left to fend for themselves begging for bread on the streets of London. Friends being unable to care for his children brought them to the Bishop who had charge of Lothropp. After about a year, all were released on bail except Lothropp, who was deemed too dangerous to be set at liberty. The Bishop ultimately released him on bond in May 1634 with the understanding that he would immediately remove to the New World. Since he did not immediately leave for the New World, a court order was subsequently put out for him. Family tradition and other historical reflections indicate he then "escaped."

Emigration

Lothropp was told that he would be pardoned upon acceptance of terms to leave England permanently with his family along with as many of his congregation members as he could take who would not accept the authority of the Church of England. Lathrop accepted the terms of the offer and left for Plymouth, Massachusetts. With his group, he sailed on the Griffin and arrived in Boston on 18 September 1634. The record found on page 71 of Governor Winthrop's Journal, quotes John Lothropp, a freeman, rejoicing in finding a "church without a bishop," . . . "and a state without a king." John Lothropp married Anna Hammond (?) (1616–1687) shortly after his arrival.

The State Papers in the new Record Office, Fetter Lane, London, preserved some of the Star Chamber records of John Lothropp's imprisoned days. The last record probably was the order of the court which opened the way for his escape to America. However, according to the National Archives, this office has not been in use since the 1860s and State Papers are now held at the National Archives.

Lothropp did not stay in Boston long. Within days, he and his group relocated to Scituate where they "joined in covenaunt together" along with nine others who preceded them to form the "church of Christ collected att Scituate."{Huntington, 1884 p27} The Congregation at Scituate was not a success. Dissent on the issue of baptism as well as other unspecified grievances and the lack of good grazing land and fodder for their cattle caused the church in Scituate to split in 1638.

Lothropp petitioned Governor Thomas Prence in Plymouth for a "place for the transplanting of us, to the end that God might have more glory and wee more comfort."{Otis, 1888 p198} Thus as Otis says "Mr. Lothropp and a large company arrived in Barnstable, October 11, 1639 O.S., bringing with them the crops which they had raised in Scituate."{Otis, 1888 p198} There, within three years they had built homes for all the families and then Lothropp began construction on a larger sturdier meeting house by Coggin's (or Cooper's) Pond, which was completed in 1644. This building, now part of the Sturgis Library in Barnstable, Massachusetts is one of John Lothrop's original homes and meeting houses, and is now also the oldest building housing a public library in the USA

"He was a man of humble and broken heart spirit, lively in dispensation of the Word of God, studious of peace, furnished with godly contentment, willing to spend and be spent for the cause of the church of Christ."{Huntington, 1884 p33}

Genealogy

John Lothropp married Hannah House in England, on 10 October 1610. They had eight children:

1. Thomas Lothropp, baptised 21 February 1612 in Eastwell, Kent, England, by his grandfather Rev. John Howse, parson there. Record from Bishop's Transcript records at Canterbury.
2. Jane Lothropp, born 29 September 1614 in Egerton, Kent, England
3. Anne Lothropp, born May 1616 in Egerton, England
4. John Lothropp, born February 1617/18 in Egerton, England
5. Barbara Lothropp, born October 1619 in Egerton, England
6. Samuel Lothropp, born 1622 in Egerton, England
7. Captain Joseph Lothropp, born April 1624 in Eastwell, Kent, England
8. Benjamin Lothropp, born December 1626 in Eastwell, Kent, England

Jane married Mayflower passenger Samuel Fuller, son of Edward Fuller.

After Hannah's death, Lothropp married again, to Ann Hammond (?) in 1635. They had five children.

9. Elizabeth Lothropp, born in Scituate, MA
10. Barnabas Lothropp, born June 1636 in Barnstable, MA
11. Abigail Lothropp, born 2 November 1639 in Barnstable, MA
12. Bathsheba Lothropp, born February 1640/41 in Scituate, MA
13. Captain John Lothropp, born 9 February 1643/44 in Barnstable, MA

Descendents

While Lothropp's fame may not have lasted much beyond his life, famous descendants continue to influence the world through this day. His direct descendants in America and elsewhere number more than 80,000, including:

Family tree

See also

• Barnstable, Massachusetts
• Congregationalism
• Plymouth Colony
• Lowthorp for a discussion of the origins and spelling variations of the name Lo-Lathrop.

Bibliography

• Huntington, Rev E. B. AM"A Genealogical Memoir of the Lo-Lathrop Family in this country embracing as far as known the descendants of The Rev. John Lothropp of Scituate and Barnstable, Mass., and Mark Lothrop of Salem and Bridgewater, Mass. the first generation of descendants of other names." ; Ridgefield Ct. 1884. A searchable online version of this book is available to the Lothropp Foundation website listed above.
• Price, Richard. John Lothropp: "A Puritan Biography And Genealogy". Salt Lake City, Utah, 1984.
• Otis, Amos. "Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families". 1888.
• Holt, Helene Exiled : the story of John Lathrop, 1584–1653, a biographical novel 1987

Notes

External links

• Lothropp Foundation
• Barnstable county history page
• Sturgis Library History
• History of the Jacob Lathrop Jessy Church
• Notable Descendants of Rev. John Lathrop/Lothropp, Founder of Barnstable, Massachusetts
• Immigrant Ancestor Rev. John Lathrop
• Lathrop Genealogy Lathrop history and resources for genealogical research.