John Winthrop: America’s Forgotten Founding Father FRANCIS J. BREMER OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS John Winthrop This page intentionally left blank John Winthrop Americas Forgotten Founding Father FRANCIS J. BREMER 2003 Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2003 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bremer, Francis J. John Winthrop: America’s forgotten founding father / Francis J. Bremer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-514913-0 1. Winthrop, John, 1588–1649. 2. Governors—Massachusetts—Biography. 3. Puritans—Massachusetts—Biography. 4. Massachusetts—History—Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775. 5. Puritans—Massachusetts—History—17th century. 6. Great Britain—History—Tudors, 1485–1603. 7. Great Britain—History—Early Stuarts, 1603–1649. 8. England—Church history—16th century. 9. England—Church history—17th century. I. Title F67.W79 B74 2003 974.4'02'092—dc21 2002038143 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper for Bobbi as John to Margaret, “My only beloved spouse, my most sweet friend, and faithful companion of my pilgrimage” This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments and Thanks ix Introduction xv Prologue 1 Part One Heritage 1 Lavenham to London 11 2 Reformation 23 3 John and Adam 39 Part Two Struggle 4 Youth 67 5 Turning Points 89 6 A Godly Magistrate 105 7 The Godly Embattled 125 8 The Decision to Migrate 147 Interlude Christian Charity 173 Part Three Errand 9 Passing Through Hell 187 10 The Best of Them Was But an Attorney 203 11 Relations with England 229 12 On the Fringe 241 13 War 261 14 Struggling to Hold the Center 275 15 New Trials and Disappointments 301 16 War Clouds and Concerns 323 17 Under Attack 349 18 Last Years 371 Epilogue 379 Notes 387 Index 465 Acknowledgments and Thanks VER THE YEARS I have come to feel a strong connection between the O stories of the past and places of the past, so it seemed natural to seek out the English places where the Winthrops had lived, attended school, served on the commission, and raised their families. I was fortunate to meet and befriend Martin and Jane Wood. Living a few hundred yards from St. Bartholomew’s Church in Groton, Martin is himself an avid stu- dent of the early modern history of the parish and the region. Our families became friends, and over the past decade it has been a rare visit to England that did not find me spending time as a guest of the Woods. Together Mar- tin and I explored towns, churches, and graveyards, walked the fields to gain an idea of the bounds of Winthrop’s manor, and peered at microfilm in the record offices at Bury and Ipswich. Through the Woods I came to know and appreciate other members of the Boxford and Groton commu- nities. Edgar and Jean Elliott once lived in what had been the Winthrop mansion house, where Edgar had himself been raised. During a massive rehabilitation preparatory to its division into three separate households, they took extensive photographs, which reveal the structure and decora- tions of the Tudor building. Their loan of those pictures proved invaluable in establishing Groton Place as the mansion house and in understanding its layout. Ron Partridge and his wife, Gladys, lived in Groton Hall, the original hall of the pre-Reformation manor, which came to house Winthrops as well in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Their gener- osity in showing me the Hall and discussing its evolution likewise proved of great use. These and other residents of Groton, such as Mary Every, encouraged my work and shared generously of themselves. I was entered on the parish rolls as a nonresident member and allowed to read lessons during worship—a privilege I much value. John Taylor of nearby Newton discussed with me farming in Groton in Winthrop’s times and today. In nearby Boxford, Jenny Robinson, a dedicated local historian of that com- munity, was equally unstinting in her support and encouragement, allow- ing me to see and use some of the products of her own research and inviting my wife and me to relax in the splendors of the garden behind the Tudor coach house, across from St. Mary’s church, that is her home. x Acknowledgments and Thanks IN A MORE traditional vein I have also profited from numerous scholars on both sides of the Atlantic. My greatest debts are perhaps to those who helped me to find my way through the thickets of English history, religion, and law. There was no Tudor-Stuart historian at Columbia University when I did my graduate work there, so my education in the field has come from reading books and asking questions. Among the many English-based schol- ars who patiently responded were Simon Adams, Ian Archer, J. H. Baker, Michael Braddick, Susan Brigden, Nicholas Canny, John Coffey, John Craig, Pauline Croft, Colin Davis, David Dymond, Lori Anne Ferrell, Ken Fincham, Frank Grace, Steve Gunn, Susan Hardman-Moore, Simon Healey, Steve Hindle, Ralph Houlbrooke, Judith Maltby, Peter North- east, Jane Ohlmeyer, Glynn Parry, Andrew Petteggree, Wilfred Prest, Michael Questier, Steven Rappaport, John Schofield, Roger Thomson, Nicholas Tyacke, Susan Wabuda, Tim Wales, and John Walter. In this country I have benefited from the advice of Bob Anderson, Sarge Bush, Charles Cohen, Richard Dunn, David H. Fischer, Stephen Foster, Chris Fritsch, Richard Gildrie, David Hall, Stephen Innes, Rolf Loeber, Robert Middlekauff, Carol Miller, Mark Peterson, Richard Rath, and Hal Worthly. At Millersville University I have benefited from the collegial atmo- sphere and the support of faculty colleagues, administrators, and students. Among those I would especially like to thank are Dennis Downey, John Osborne, Linda Clark-Newman, Jack Fischel, John Thornton, Chris Dahl, Susan Ortmann, Monica Spiese, John MacDonald, Richard Rath, Glen McCaskey, Jill Kress, and Terry Sales. The Faculty Grants Committee of Millersville University has been generous in supporting my research trips. Other debts are more specific. Sue Sadler conducted the original re- search into John Winthrop’s tenure on the Commission of the Peace. Tom Freeman showed me the Emmanuel College manuscripts relating to Wil- liam Winthrop and assisted me on numerous occasions as I labored to iden- tify Winthrop connections to the early English Reformation. Brett Usher pointed me to the Exchequer’s composition books for first fruits, sharing with me his own findings in that treasure trove and saving me from errors on many occasions. Christopher Thompson not only shared with me his insights into the Forth family and their connections with the Riches but chauffered me around southeast Essex to examine Great Stambridge and the other places of Winthrop interest in that area. I have learned much from Tom Webster, who is one of the most brilliant of the younger gen- eration of puritan scholars. At a National Endowment for the Humanities seminar in 1975 Tim Breen helped me to understand the broader cultural forces that are a key to understanding the past, and he has since been a valued friend and source of encouragement. It is always a blessing when academic contacts lead to personal friend- ship, and I have been fortunate in this many times over. I still remember Acknowledgments and Thanks xi the wonderful humanity of Christopher Hill, holding the hands of my young daughters Heather and Kristin and skipping along the streets of Cincin- nati, Ohio, in 1975. Christopher was there to speak at a conference I had organized at Thomas More College, “Puritanism in Old and New En- gland”; we had corresponded, but it was the first time we had met. Though his advice was of more direct relevance to Congregational Communion, his enthusiasm for the early modern period remains an inspiration, and I have valued his friendship and my visits with him and Bridget. I first met Pat Collinson when I was a Fulbright Fellow at Cambridge University. His Tudor-Stuart seminar introduced me to issues I would spend many more years considering and to fellow investigators whose friendship I have valued. Over the past decade Pat has come to Millersville University to speak, visited my family, played with our pet ferret, and shared his warmth, wit, and vast knowledge of the English world of John Winthrop. That same year at Cambridge I came to know John Morrill, who has become a cherished friend, and his family friends of my family. We have collaborated in teaching a National Endowment for the Humanities sum- mer seminar, “Two Faces of Puritanism: Oliver Cromwell and John Winthrop,” at Millersville University; offered a pair of coordinated courses on seventeenth-century England and New England at Selwyn College, Cambridge; and cochaired a Liberty Fund seminar on the political thought of Winthrop and Cromwell in Lavenham, Suffolk. These opportunities have done much to shape my understanding of Winthrop and his place in the broader puritan movement. Diarmaid MacCulloch arranged for me to be a visiting fellow at St. Cross College, Oxford, in 1997, giving me an opportunity to use the won- derful resources of the Bodleian Library and to discuss my interests with the brilliant collection of early modern English historians at Oxford.