The Descendants of Rev. Philip Henry Incumbent of Worthenbury, in The
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ytruAfr CANADtANA DEPARTMEN NORTH YORK PUBLIC LIBR/ THE DESCENDANTS OF REV. PHILIP HENRY, M.A, Incumbent of TVorthenbury, in the County of Flint, who was ejected therefrom by the Act of Uniformity in 1662. THE SWANWICK BRANCH TO 1899 COMPILED BY SARAH LUPTON SWANWICK, A descendant in the seventh degree. JAMES EDMUND JONES, B.A., A descendant in the eighth degree. PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION TORONTO, CANADA: The Brovvn-Searle Printing Co. 1899 lPbtlip lbenr\) 163 i-i 696 PREFACE TO EDITION OF 1844. Compiled by Sarah Lawrence, a Descendant in the Fifth Degree. THE annexed tables of the Descendants of the Rev. Philip Henry are founded upon a genealogical tree, drawn up originally about fifty years ago by Mr. Matthew Witton, one of the descendants of that excellent man, a copy of which was made, some years ago, by a friend for the editor. Having availed herself of the several opportunities of communication with different branches of the family which have occurred during the long period that has elapsed since the original document came into her possession, to make such additions as were from time to time needful, she is induced to print a few copies for the benefit of such of the descendants as may desire to possess one ; in the belief that a reverential regard for the memory of our forefathers, where it is founded on the intrinsic qualities of the mind and character, rather than on the adventitious circumstances of rank and position — on what they have been, rather than what they have possessed, can scarcely fail to exert a valuable moral in- fluence on the minds of their descendants. The editor prefixes a summary of the life of the head of the family, which was drawn up by the gentleman, (Mr. Witton) who originally made out the tree, which was ingeniously arranged, so as to compose the trunk, whilst the names of the different children diverged off in the form of branches. As these however had become, in the lapse of so many years, too heavily laden with names, to admit of their retention in their original form, a different mode of arrangement has been adopted, and one which it is believed will prove more convenient for reference. The following works (from the first of which the summary here given is taken) may be consulted as throwing additional light on the family history : 1. — Life of Philip Henry by his son, Matthew Henry; an enlarged edition of this has been published within the last few years by Sir John Bickerton Williams. 2. —The Life of Matthew Henry by Mr. Tong, and one also by Sir J. B. Williams. 3. —The Life of Mrs. Savage (P. Henry's eldest daughter) by Sir J. B. Williams, to which is added a memoir of Mrs. Hulton and one of Mrs. Radford by Rev. M. Henry. The editor has been anxious to render this little work as complete and cor- rect as possible ; but fears that, in spite of all her care, some omissions and errors will be found ; for any such, she must entreat the reader's candid indulgence. Lea?nitigto?i, March, 1844. 2 SUMMARY OF THE LIFE OF REV. PHILIP HENRY, REFERRED TO IN PRECEDING PREFACE. JOHN HENRY, father to Philip, was the son to Henry Williams of Brittons- Ferry, near Swansea ; according to the custom then prevalent in Wales, to make the christian name of the father the surname of the son. John Henry was first Gentleman to the Earl of Pembroke, and afterwards page to James II., when Duke of York. He married Mrs. Magdalen Rochdale of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, Westminster, a virtuous, pious gentlewoman, and one that feared God above many. She died March 6th, 1645, leaving behind, her son Philip and five daughters. A little before her death she had this saying, "My head is in Heaven and my heart is in Heaven, it is but one step more and I shall be there too." Philip Henry was born at Whitehall, Westminster, 1631 ; named Philip, by Philip, Earl of Pembroke, who, with James, Earl of Carlisle, and the Countess of Salisbury, were his sponsors. He was chosen in 1647 from Westminster School, to Christ Church, Oxford. In 1651, B.A.; in 1652, M.A. He preached his first sermon at Hincksey, in Oxfordshire, Jan. 1653. In this year he removed to Worthenbury, a small town in the detached portion of Flintshire, about eight miles from Whitchurch, to be Chaplain to Judge Puleston, whose Lady was emi- nent for wisdom, piety and learning, above most of her sex. In 1657 he was ordained by the nearest class of acting Presbyters in the north of Shropshire. In 1659, presented to the living of Worthenbury; in this year Judge Puleston died, and Philip Henry's interest in that family died with him. April 26th, 1660, he married Katharine, only daughter of Daniel Matthews, Esq., of Broad-Oak, near Whitchurch, by whom he had a competent estate, which supported him when he was ejected in 1662, and enabled him to assist others, in which he sowed plenti- fully, saying, "it is more blessed to give than to receive." The maiden name of Mrs. Henry's mother was Sarah Benyon, originally ap Einion, as appears by a short table of her descent from that family inserted at the end of the volume. On being ejected from Worthenbury in 1662, he removed to Broad-Oak. From this time till 1666 he endured great persecution. In 1667 he removed to Whit- church and on the following year back to Broad-Oak again. In 1674 he set up a week-day lecture there, which was continued for about eighty years. In 1685 he, with Mr. Owen, held a public disputation with Lloyd, bishop of St. Asaph and Mr. Dodwell at Oswestry. In 1685 he with many others was committed to Chester Castle, where he remained three weeks. Nevertheless in May, 1688, he was nominated a Justice of the Peace for Flintshire, but declined acting. On Lord's Day, June 21st., 1696, he preached as usual. On Tuesday the 23rd, he was seized with a fit of stone and colic; and after about sixteen hours' illness he departed June 24th., 1696. He took an affectionate leave of his wife, with a thousand thanks for all her care and tenderness ; and, like dying Jacob, said to his son, "The Lord bless you and grant that you may do worthily in your gener- ation, and be more serviceable to the church of God than I have been." His last words were, " Oh death where is thy ? " the last word was lost in death. He was buried in Whitchurch Church, June 27th, where is a monument, erected by his son-in-law, Dr. Tylston, of Chester, on which is inscribed an epitaph. His funeral sermon was preached by his friend Mr. Talents, of Shrewsbury. Kath- arine Henry, his wife, died in 1703. His usual compliment to his children when settling, was, " I wish you all holiness, and then, there is no doubt that you will have all happiness." PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. During the fifty-five years that have elapsed since the publication by Miss Sarah Lawrence of a list of the descendants of Philip Henry it would have been impossible without continuous and systematic effort to keep a complete record of the various branches of the family. The fair-sized volume filled by the enumer- ation of the descendants of his great-great-grandson, John Swanwick, indicates that the task of obtaining a complete list of all the descendants of Philip Henry at the present day would be almost too extensive an undertaking. If it had been possible to obtain such a list, the person best qualified to have done so was the Rev. Matthew Henry Lee, vicar of Hanmer, Flintshire, who in 1882 collected and published "The Diaries and Letters of Philip Henry."* The original diaries and letters are the prized possessions of a large number of persons belonging to different branches of the family. It is remarkable that in 1844 when facilities for postal communication were so scanty, Miss Lawrence was able to collect so complete and correct a list. The compilers of the present edition hope that now when the ends of the world are so much nearer together, it may be possible to gather material for a future and more extended edition not confined to the Swanwick branch. Some ma- terial is already in hand. Opposite page 50 will be found a table, the result of researches of Edward Filliter, Esq. The descendants of the brothers of Joseph Swanwick must surely have died out, or the search in the city directories described on page 1 2 would have resulted differently. To any who may apply for a grant of arms the following facts may prove inter- esting and of value. Philip Henry had, as his seal, chequers, with a fleur-de-lis for crest, and Matthew Henry bore three battle-axes ppr. per fess upon a field, gules. But neither these nor the Swanwick "sable, 3 swans argent" are to be found in " Burke's Armorial" or in the Heralds' College of Arms. The Swan- wick arms appear in an old pedigree of an ancient Swanwick family contained in a manuscript at the British Museum. Mr. Carter who has written some articles on the Swanwick family in "The Midland Antiquary," says that Randal Holme, an ancient and eminent genealogist of Cheshire, gives as the arms of Henry de Swan- wirke— "sable, 3 swans argent" and he adds that "these arms were probably Keegan Paul, Trench & Co., i, Paternoster Row, London.