Thomas Fell (abt. 1599 - 1658)

Born about 1599 in Lancaster, Lancashire, England

Descendants

Died 8 Oct 1658 at about age 59 in London, England

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Biography

Thomas Fell is Notable.

Birth, Parentage and Early Life

Thomas Fell was baptised at Ulverston, Lancashire on 13 March 1599/1600 (1600 in modern reckoning), with his father named as George.^[1] His father lived at Hawkswell near Ulverston.^[2][3]

Shortly after his birth his father built Swarthmoor Hall, also near Ulverston, which became Thomas's residence.^[3]

Legal Career

Thomas was admitted to Gray's Inn on 20 October 1623.^[4] He was called to the Bar in 1631, and became a bencher of Gray's Inn in 1651.^[2][3]

in 1641 he was made a Justice of the Peace for Lancashire.^[3] On the outbreak of the Civil War he sided with the Parliamentarians.^[3] He acted as a sequestrator in Lancashire for the Parliamentarians.^[2]

From 1645/6 to 1648 he represented Lancaster in the Long Parliament^[2], though he was recorded in 1647 as absent without cause and fined £20.^[2] He withdrew during Pride's Purge in December 1648 but was readmitted to the House of Commons in July 1649.^[2]

He received various legal appointments from 1648:

• 1648: Attorney-General for North Wales^[2]
• 1649: Deputy to the Chief Justice of Chester^[2]
• 1649: Vice-Chancellor and Serjeant-at-law of the Duchy of Lancaster^[2][3]
• 1649: Attorney for the County Palatine of Lancashire^[2][3]
• 1654: a keeper of the seal of the Duchy of Lancaster^[2]

Marriage and Children

In 1632 Thomas married Margaret Askew.^[2][5] They had eight children:

• Margaret, who married John Rous on 29 January 1661/2 (1662 in modern reckoning).^[6] She was probably born in about 1633.^[7]
• Bridget, born in about 1635, who married John Draper of Headlam, County Durham^[7]
• Isabel, born in about 1637, who married twice, her husbands being William Yeamans of Bristol and Abraham Morrice of Lincoln^[7]
• George, born in about 1638, who married Hannah (née Cooke) Potter and who died in 1670^[7]
• Sarah, born in 1642, who married William Meade and who died in 1714^[7]
• Mary, born in 1647, who married Thomas Lower and who died in 1720^[7]
• Susannah, born in about 1650, who married William Ingram^[7]
• Rachel, born in 1653, who married Daniel Abraham^[7]

Family's Quakerism

In 1652 George Fox came to Swarthmoor Hall and Thomas's wife and daughters joined the Quaker movement.^[8][9][10] Thomas Fell himself did not become a Quaker, but he afforded Quakers some protection, and Swarthmoor Hall became one of their main bases.^[10][11][12]

Death

Thomas died on 8 October 1658.^[2] He was buried at the parish church of Uverston, Lancashire^[13] on 10 October 1658.^[2] His seven surviving daughters were residuary legatees under his will.^[14]

Research Notes

Baptism Year

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography gives his baptismal year as 1599^[2]: it was in fact 1599/1600, and 1600 in modern reckoning.

Sources

1. ↑ England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5K7-QM7
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Fell, Thomas (bap. 1599, d. 1658)', 2004, revised online 2008, available online via some libraries
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6} Isabel Ross. Margaret Fell, Mother of Quakerism, 2nd edition, William Sessions, 1984, pp. 2-5
4. ↑ Joseph Foster. The Register of Admissions to Gray's Inn 1521-1889, Hansard Publish Union (privately printed), 1889, p. 170, Internet Archive
5. ↑ Isabel Ross, Margaret Fell, p. 6
6. ↑ England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837, records of Swarthmoor Monthly Meeting, Lancashire, Ancestry.co.uk and accompanying image: "29 11 (eleventh month, ie January) John Rous, late of the Island of Barbados& Margaret Fell of Swarthmoor Hall Did take Each other in Marriage in the presence of Divers Witnesses"
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7} Isabel Ross, Margaret Fell, genealogical table inside end-cover
8. ↑ George Fox (ed. Norman Penney). The Journal of George Fox, J M Dent and Sons, 1924, p. 66
9. ↑ H Larry Ingle. First Among Friends. George Fox & the Creation of Quakerism, Oxford University Press, 1994, pp. 86-87
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} William C Braithwaite. The Beginnings of Quakerism, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, 1955, pp. 100-104
11. ↑ George Fox, Journal, passim
12. ↑ Isabel Ross, Margaret Fell, passim
13. ↑ Isabel Ross, Margaret Fell, p. 121
14. ↑ Isabel Ross, Margaret fell, pp. 398-400

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Fell, Thomas (bap. 1599, d. 1658)', 2004, revised online 2008, available online via some libraries
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, entry for 'Fell, Thomas', Wikisource
• Ross, Isabel. Margaret Fell, Mother of Quakerism, 2nd edition, William Sessions, 1984
• Wikipedia: Thomas Fell]