File:John Harvard and his times (1907) (14776313581).jpg

Identifier: johnharvardhisti00she (find matches)
Title: John Harvard and his times
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Shelley, Henry C. (Henry Charles)
Subjects: Harvard, John, 1607-1638 Harvard College (1636-1780) Colonists
Publisher: Boston : Little, Brown
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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bearing 205 JOHN HARVARD AND HIS TIMES the signatures of John and Thomas Harvard,may be seen- among the muniments of St.Katherines hospital. In this lease the brothersare described as John Harvard, clerke, andThomas Harvard, citizen and clothworkerof London. How and when Thomas Harvard obtainedhis right to call himself a citizen of Londonmay be easily verified. His house and placeof business were situated in the parish of St.Olives, Southwark, in the county of Surrey,and that district was outside the Londonboundary of those days. Hence, on the sur-face, it would seem as though he had no au-thority to assume the title of citizen of Lon-don. If, however, reference is made to therecords of the Clothworkers Company of Lon-don, it will be found that Thomas Harvardwas admitted a freeman of that corporation onDecember 3rd, 1634, and that fact gave himfull authority to assume the designation ofcitizen of London. On the other hand, it is not at presentknown whence and when John Harvard ac- 206
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LAST YEARS IN ENGLAND quired the right to describe himself as aclerk. He is so designated for the first timein his mothers will, and twenty-three daysafter that document was signed he assumedthe title in the new lease for the All SaintsBarking property. In the record of his mar-riage there is no mention of his occupation, butin the will of his father-in-law, which wasdrafted in February 1637, he appears onceagain as clerke. As a general rule in theseventeenth century, the word clerk im-plied an ordained clergyman, and its appli-cation to John Harvard by his mother and itsassumption by himself would seem to in-dicate that he was ordained prior to July,1635. That such was the case, however, stillawaits confirmation by adequate documentaryevidence. Having discharged his duties in connectionwith his mothers will, it is not improbable thatJohn Harvard spent a considerable portionof the remainder of the summer of 1635 atRingmer, in Sussex. In the vicarage there hewould be able to resume his

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