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Rev John White (1574/5-1648)(Also spelt Whyte or Whight)
©Compiled by Michael Russell OPC for Fordington February 2009 |
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Note:- In writing this short biography I have relied heavily upon the following 3 accounts of his life and events of the day as they are clearly well researched, held in high repute, based largely on established fact and contain clear source material. Other source material used is given in the genealogical notes at the end. Many claims of association with the family or descent from John White himself are either unsubstantiated or clearly wrong. A classic example is the miss-reading of his will which I have transcribed and commented upon separately. Rose Troup also comments upon these claims in her book about his life on pages 392/3. There were many John White's living at this time and I have written a separate account of the life of John White (1590-1645) the parliamentarian who worked with him and was no relation at all. Here I am concerned about the reverend himself and have not therefore gone beyond the clear facts known about his four sons. There are so many John White’s in his own family that for the sake of clarity I have from time to time referred to the Rev John White born 1575 as ‘John the patriarch’ , his son as 'John White junior' and his father as ‘John White senior’. 'Fire From Heaven' by David Underdown published by Pimlico 2003 ' William Whiteway of Dorchester' His diary 1618-1635' published by the Dorset record Society in 1991 |
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| John White (1574/5-1648) a puritan divine, and often called the “Patriarch of Dorchester”, was baptised(1) at Stanton St John in Oxfordshire on the 6th January 1574/5. He was the second son of six children of John White senior (1550-1618) and his wife Isabel Bawle (1552-1601). He had been born towards the end of December in the two storey house of Manor Farm which was situated just across the street from the 13th Century parish church of St John2 and only a few miles North East from Oxford. |
© Jonathan Billinger |
Stanton St John |
© Jonathan Billinger |
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The Manor of Stanton St John was granted to the Warden and Scholars of New College Oxford in 1526, and his great uncle, Thomas White DCL17 (1514-1588), obtained his doctorate and was appointed warden there in 1553. He was ordained as an acolyte & subdeacon on the same day (8th Sep 1554) and was officially appointed as Rector of Stanton St John on the 10th of the same month. Things moved on quickly with ordination as a deacon on 1st October and priest on 23 December 1554. He was suspected of favouring the Old Faith but continued in office as Warden of New College under Elizabeth who liked him; when she visited Oxford he was one of those who held a canopy over her head on her entry into the Cathedral. In 1561 he granted the lease of Manor Farm, with its outbuildings and associated lands to his nephew, John White senior (1550-1618). Thomas himself lived in the old rectory, now destroyed, which stood immediately south of the church. During the Bishop’s visitation of 1566 Thomas faced some serious charges over misconduct and one of these involved ‘alienation of College property’. He managed to clear himself however as he remained warden there and Rector of Stanton St John until he resigned both posts in 1574 to concentrate upon his role as chancellor of Salisbury Cathedral where he was later to be buried on 12 Jun 1588.  16th Century Grade II listed Manor Farm House  <<<
A close up of the inscription above the front door to Manor House Farm reads
'The birthplace of John White, 1575-1648, Fellow of New College, Oxford, and chief founder of the colony of Massachusetts, New England' Family Connections On Mary’s accession to the throne in 15535 he espoused her cause and publicly disputed with Cranmer, Latimer, and others. He gained favour with Mary as a zealous Roman Catholic and was rewarded with the Bishopric of Lincoln in 1554. The following year he was incorporated Doctor of Divinity at Oxford and in 1556 translated to the see of Winchester.1 The dignity however was granted him upon condition that he paid £1,000 yearly out of the revenues of the see to cardinal Pole Archbishop of Canterbury. Queen Mary however died of dropsy in November 15586 and his fame as an eloquent preacher led to his appointment to preach the sermon at her funeral at St Paul’s Cross. His speech was less than complimentary to her successor and being zealous for the old religion at the public disputation in Westminster Abbey he even threatened to excommunicate her. Outraged Elizabeth had him committed to ‘The Tower’ again on 3rd April 1559. His health however declined and he was soon released and permitted to retire to his sisters house in South Warnborough where he died on 11 January 1560. In accordance with his will he was interred at Winchester Cathedral. "Much of College education consisted of listening to famous, and not so famous, lecturers and preachers, and debating their theories. Long, learned treatises were written. By the time John White entered New College it was beginning to lose its reputation as a "nest of crypto-papists". It was here that he really came under the influence of puritan thinking. Due to the influence of preachers such as Thomas Cartwright (although he was not actually a professor at New College), the students had started to favour the teachings of Calvin, and many wanted reform within the Church of England, and John White belonged to this group. They longed for a simpler form of worship, but walked a fine line between sticking to their puritan views and risking their livings - and perhaps their lives. In 1593, just about the time he entered college, parliament passed the Conventricle Act. At this time the Queen was getting nervous: to her, separatism was subversive, even revolutionary, as the monarch was the head of the church. Therefore this act gave separatives a choice: stick to the practices of the Church of England, or face exile or death." Following education he remained in residence at New College but was admitted into holy orders and became a frequent preacher around Oxford. During this time events of considerable importance to Puritanism took place. One of these, the translation of the Bible, would have had a particular interest for White. Two Fellows of his college were among those appointed to undertake this task - one of them, John Harmer, had been his schoolmaster at Winchester. On the 11th November 1605 John White was presented to the King and given the living of Holy Trinity in Dorchester where he was appointed Rector, a post he took up the following year. His older brother Josias White (c.1573 - 1622/3) was also educated at New College Oxford of which he was made fellow in 1594. He became a licensed preacher in 1606 [presumably taking over from John] before obtaining his Bachelor of Divinity in 1610. He married Anne Barlow of Petersfield in Hampshire and became the Vicar of Hornchurch in Essex in 1611. They had 4 children. His great uncle Richard White (c.1508 - aft 1588) another Fellow of New College Oxford had also previously been vicar there. He died in February 1622/3 and his wife remarried to Francis Drake of Walton in Surrey. When he also died on 17 March 1633/4 John the Patriarch persuaded her to move to Dorchester. As a result two of their sons ( John and William) became merchants there for a while before removing to London. The eldest son however Josiah White (junior) became another graduate of New Inn Hall1 and went on to obtain holy orders. He was appointed to the living of Langton Matravers in Dorset in 1640 taking over from the Rev. John Ball (1591-1639) but soon died and was buried at Poole on 10th December 1643. 
When in 1606 John the Patriarch was appointed Rector of Holy Trinity (picture left), Dorchester was one of the largest towns located on one of the busiest intersections in Dorset. Close to the church of Holy Trinity situated in Dorchester High Street is the largest church in Dorchester, St Peters (picture right). Although a distinct and independent parish church with its own parochial officers, it has been a chapel of Holy Trinity since at least the year 1303. As such John White in common with his predecessors became Rector of both the most prominent churches in Dorchester, which gave him a highly respected position of importance within the community. There is no doubt that he continued to preach, this time from his own pulpit, with as Wood put it, “great gravity and presence” and he quickly gained respect not only from the local community but the puritan movement as a whole. During the course of his Ministry which lasted over 43 years he is said to have expounded the whole of the scripture and to have gone through about half of it a second time. In William Whiteway’s diary for example there is reference in January 1627 to “Mr White’s morning lectures being increased from Mondays and Fridays to Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. The pulpit was also the place where people in the community first heard important items of news. It is clear from William Whiteway's diary that they kept very much in touch with, not only what was going on in London, but also the continent. The church therefore was right at the heart of the community and the next service might contain information on anything from the success or otherwise of battles, to decisions taken by the Corporation, judicial judgments, new Acts of parliament, births marriages or deaths of Royalty and important personages etc all with a comment from the Rector making it clear how he viewed these developments. “ Dorchester reformers also showed a striking concern for relieving the deserving poor; for feeding, clothing, and educating their children; for providing shelter for the elderly and fuel for the indigent. These things were as much a part of godly reformation as the fining of drunkards, the stocking of swearers, or the flogging of the idle and vagrant. All stemmed from the vision inspired by the preaching of John White and his colleagues.” Funds raised to support the Hospital soon exceeded all requirements so in 1622, as there had been complaints about the quality of beer produced locally, it was decided to use the surplus in the erection of a Brew house 7 on spare land already purchased for the Hospital. This was so successful that it managed to underpin many of the charitable schemes they embarked upon. John White also saw to creating financial stability for the Clergy of Dorchester but did not forget the needs of others as Dorchester contributed to National appeals for aid to a far higher degree than most towns in the Country throughout his tenure there.  
The four children who are also listed in Mary Terry's Will of 1637 were: as follows:-3 1. John White [ junior ] [1607- ] he was actually baptised at Stockton Wiltshire on 27th December 1607 by John the Patriarch's brother in law John Terry who was rector there. John White junior also took holy orders and his appointment to the living as rector of Pimperne in Dorset was approved by Parliament on 7th July 1646. According to Rose-Troup he may also have served as curate in charge in Dorchester during his fathers absence in London. He was obliged however to quit his living at Pimperne during the Restoration and he appears to have assisted Mr Lamb at Bere Regis in 1662 but no record has been found of his marriage or death. 2. Samuel White [ - 1660] a goldsmith in Dorchester he married twice. First to Sarah the daughter of Edward Cuttance of Weymouth by whom he had a daughter Hester. By his second wife he had two children Anne and Samuel and he appears to have died about 1661 as there are references to his widow in the following year. 3. Josiah White [ - 1674] a merchant of Dorchester and Rouen. He married Margery daughter of Nicholas Hallett of Bradpole by whom he had a son John before 1634. Josiah died in 1674 4. Nathaniel White [ - ] an unmarried Captain in 1634 - and merchant 1650 John White did not agree with the separatist movement believing that the church could be reformed from within. He saw immediately however the business and religious possibilities that New England represented and with his usual zeal set about exploiting it. John White felt that this could form the nucleus for a larger colony and a refuge for those persecuted for their religion, both from those wishing to leave the separatists at Plymouth and from England. They together with other like minded friends and traders came together to take the issue forward and the records of the Council for New England show that a licence to search for a site for a new plantation was granted on 18th February 1622/3. Support for the venture was clear as the Council ordered preparation of a letter giving reasons why western merchants should further the scheme of settlement and asked the King to send out copies to all the shires. A year later, on 18 February 1623, the council granted a patent to Sir Walter Earle, . The promoters, led by Earle and White, met in March 1624 at Dorchester to formally organize the venture. They formed the "Dorchester Company " which soon had 119 stockholders paying £25 per share. Altogether, the company's initial fund came to more than £3,000. Even before that meeting, the new Dorchester Company purchased a small ship of 50 tons called the Fellowship which set out for New England in the summer of 1623. It arrived too late for productive fishing and left fourteen men and provisions to occupy Cape Ann. Two additional voyages, in 1624 and 1625, also failed as fishing expeditions. The latter had to be financed on borrowed funds, resulting in great loss to the company. Sinking into debt with no obvious way to turn a profit quickly, the company folded in 1626. By that time about fifty men had been left at Cape Ann, and some men from Plymouth Colony who disliked Separatist rule (including John Lyford and Roger Conant) joined them. Their experience as colonists was useful to the plantation, yet the undertaking did not flourish. Cape Ann was twenty miles from the best fishing waters and had little agriculturally productive land. The site being unsuitable, Roger Conant advised all who wished to remain in New England to transfer to Nahum Keike, afterward named Salem. Despite the Dorchester Company's bankruptcy, John White undertook to provide the necessary supplies for the Nahum Keike colonists. The next ship 'The Abigail' (another Weymouth vessel) sailed on 20th June 1628 carrying the Plantations new Governor John Endecott and about forty other colonists for Nahum Keike. 
As soon as Endecott arrived in New England it was not long before he disclosed his domineering spirit. The old planters must have learned with intense surprise that they had been handed over, as Endecott represented, body and soul, with all their worldly goods, servants, fields and buildings to the new company. Endecott moved quickly appropriating their homes for the new settlers and even had the frame of their great house built for the Dorchester men dismantled and re-erected at Salem for his own use.
Confronted with a Governor who ignored all claims to any consideration for their efforts, which had actually provided a plantation for him to rule, they withdrew co-operation and considered leaving to another plantation at the bottom of the Bay. Facing a winter with no experienced planters Endecott was forced to concede to a few of their claims and to put their case to the Patentees in London. The old planters naturally turned to John White for his support and with his influence their grievances were eventually addressed by special grants of land etc. Roger Conant and others eventually moved to to a new location which in his life time became the town of Beverly. Their land grant however overlapped a number of other grants handed out by the council including that issued in 1622 to the Earl of Warwick, Lord Gorges, Sir Robert Mansell, and Sir Ferdinado Gorges. It was a complicated situation as the Earl of Warwick was the president of the Council for New England. Warwick was in sympathy with the puritans and seems to have been willing to help them out with getting the patent. Gorges, upset by the latest grant, declared that it was obtained from the Council in a clandestine manner during his absence at war with France. As might be expected this caused a good deal of anxiety about the security of the patent. 
While the Massachusetts Bay Company was preparing for the sailing of what has become known as the Winthrop Fleet, White was preparing his own ship, the 'Mary and John', with another batch of planters from the west country areas. Many of the passengers were known or recruited personally by White or were his own relatives through marriage or blood. He does not appear to have been happy with all the developments and loss of influence within the new company as he instructed the master of the ship , Thomas Squibb a Weymouth man, "not to land them at Salem but to take them into the Charles River". It seem likely that most of those from Dorset and Somerset would have embarked at Weymouth, perhaps accompanied by John White himself for the short voyage down the coast to Plymouth where they picked up the remaining west country emigrants. There the Rev. John Warham and Rev. John Maverick were chosen to be their ministers in New England. In Plymouth John White would have been reacquainted with his intimate friend and preacher of Gods word there Matthias Nicholls. He certainly attended and spoke at the service there before their departure.The brothers Ralph and William Sprague from Fordington who came over at their own expense on the 'Abigail' in 1628 were personal friends of John White. Their families had followed on the 'Lyons Whelp' arriving by 1629. Ralph and William were among those sent by John Endecott to stake out the claim on the Charles River and we find that in 1630 Ralph Sprague was of sufficient stature to be elected to sit on the first ever jury empanelled in Massachusetts. He was made constable of the newly named Charlestown the following year. It was to that town the emigrants made their way after they had been landed , contrary to orders at Nantasket; and there they began to erect a shelter for their goods, but not many days after they "had order to come away from that place". and they settled at Matapan which they called Dorchester in honour of their reverend friend John White. Had White intended to establish a plantation upon the several hundred acres to which he was entitled he would almost certainly have asked Sprague the pioneer who was ideally situated to select a site, and events would no doubt would have followed much the course that they did. For a number of years following the migration he had intended to make the journey himself, but for some reason he never did. In 1631 he so energetically collected provisions needed in Massachusetts, that some people in Dorchester accused him of diverting parish funds to that cause. In 1633 he refused to read extracts from the "Book of Sports" as ordered by the Archbishop of England and an out spoken sermon caused him to come under suspicion of non-conformity. His personal study was searched for evidence against him but he seems to have escaped punishment. He also became a prominent member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines and according to Anthony Wood, "one of the most learned and moderate among them". He was obviously well respected as he was appointed chairmen of one of the existing committees which on 22nd August 1643 sought the agreement of the Commons to six draft orders for the ejection of ministers beneficed in London and Hertfordshire, and their replacement by others who were regarded as godly men10. He continued throughout this time to refer to himself as 'Mr White of Dorchester. In 1645 White was appointed to succeed the ejected Dr Featley as Rector for the parish of Savoy in Lambeth and the doctor's library was committed to his care 'until his own should be returned'. 
Memorial Plaque to Rev.John White The Rev John White died suddenly on the 21st July 1648 and was buried three days later under the south porch of St. Peter's Church8 where the plaque above has been erected in his honour. Genealogical Notes:- 1. Oxford University Alumni, 1500-1886. Before 1752 the year started on 25th March not 1st January. He was therefore baptised on 6th January 1574 but the correct transcription procedure is to use both Old and New Reckonings hence 1574/5 2. http://www.oxforduk.co.uk/historydetail.php?id=16131&f=Oxford 3. Rose-Troup,FJ - John White , the Patriarch of Dorchester and founder of Massachusetts 1575-1648 New York and London GP Putnam’s sons 1930 4. Strype, Memorials of Archbishop Cranmer, II. p233 5. On her marriage (3 above) records that he wrote an Epithalamium 6. The Wordsworth Book of Kings and Queens of Britain pub 1997 by Wordsworth Editions Ltd 7. Water was undrinkable in most towns and villages at this time so most drank beer which was sterilized. The first mash which was strong was drunk by men, the second by women and the third, the weakest, by children. 8. The Last will and Testament of the Rev John WHITE has also been transcribed and can be viewed on this site 9. Rose-Troup refers on page 17 of her book to 4 daughters but then only lists three in the pedigree which was actually written by John White himself. This error is repeated in "Dorchester Divided" (14 below) in the Family Tree provided on page 187. In my view both stem from a miss reading of John Whites Will which I have transcribed ( 8 above) where he refers to four sisters. It needs to be appreciated that in the 17th century the spouse of a sibling was simply treated as a brother or sister and referred to as such see genealogical note 2 on his will. 10. Puritans in Conflict by John Trevor Cliffe 11. History of the Chancellorship of Oxford [1853 edition] page 117 12. National Archives Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury PROB 11/125 13. Chalmers Biographical Dictionary 14. Dorchester Divided Researches & Reflections on Dorchester in the early 17th century by the Community Play research group published in 2002. Pages 185-196. 15. British History on Line - The Coat of Arms at the top of the page is that of John White of Southwick Hants a sketch and description of which can be found in the Victoria County History for Hampshire John Whites pedigree is recorded in the Hampshire Visitation of 1634 which goes back to John White of Timsbury where he claims descent from a younger brother of White of Southwick. 16. Victoria County History of Oxford Volume 5 pages 282 - 293 17. Re Thomas White (Whyte or Whight) (1514-1588) There is some confusion between the many Thomas Whites in the Oxford University Alumni 1500-171. For example it quotes his being Rector of Bishopstoke Hants in 1545. The Church of England Database (CCED) (http://www.theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/locations/index.jsp) confirms the appointment of a Thomas White on 20 oct 1545 but also his natural death in 1551 when he was replaced by a John Bale. |