David Clarkson (1622 – 14 June 1686) was an English

ejected minister The Great Ejection followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England, following Stuart Restoration, The Restoration of Charles II of England, Charles I ...

Early life

The son of Robert Clarkson, he was born at

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, Yorkshire, where he was baptised on 3 March 1622. His brother, William Clarkson, held the sequestered rectory of

Adel, Leeds Adel is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. To its immediate south is Weetwood, to the west are Cookridge and Holt Park, to the east are Alwoodley and Moortown, and to the north are Bramhope, Arthington and Eccup. It forms part of the ...

, and died not long before the Restoration. His sister was married to Sharp, uncle of Bishop John Sharp and father of Thomas Sharp, the ejected minister. He was educated at

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It ...

, and by virtue of a warrant from the

Earl of Manchester Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the current senior title of the House of Montagu. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester. Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named afte ...

was admitted fellow on 5 May 1645, being then B.A. Clarkson had pupils until 26 March 1650, among them

John Tillotson John Tillotson (October 1630 – 22 November 1694) was the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury from 1691 to 1694. Curate and rector Tillotson was the son of a Puritan clothier at Haughend, Sowerby, Yorkshire. Little is known of his early youth ...

, who succeeded him in his fellowship about 27 November 1651.

Career

Clarkson obtained the perpetual curacy of

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many centu ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and held it till his ejection by the

Uniformity Act 1662 The Act of Uniformity 1662 (14 Car 2 c 4) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of England. (It was formerly cited as 13 & 14 Charles II of England, Ch.2 c. 4, by reference to the regnal year when it was passed on 19 May 1662.) It pr ...

. After two decades of covert movement he became, in July 1682, colleague to John Owen as pastor of an independent church in London, and on Owen's death in the following year he succeeded him as sole pastor. He died rather suddenly on 14 June 1686, and his funeral sermon was preached by William Bates.

Works

Clarkson published: * ''The Practical Divinity of the Papists proved destructive to Christianity'', 1672. * ''Animadversions upon the Speeches of the Five Jesuits'', 1679. * ''No Evidence for Diocesan Churches or any Bishops without the Choice or Consent of the People in the Primitive Times'', 1681. In reply to

Edward Stillingfleet Edward Stillingfleet (17 April 1635 – 27 March 1699) was a British Christian theologian and scholar. Considered an outstanding preacher as well as a strong polemical writer defending Anglicanism, Stillingfleet was known as "the beauty of holin ...

. * ''Diocesan Churches not yet discovered in the Primitive Times'', 1682, in support of the previous work. Posthumous were: * ''A Discourse of the Saving Grace of God'', 1688 (preface by John Howe). * ''Primitive Episcopacy'', 1688; reissued 1689 (answered by Henry Maurice, in ''Defence of Diocesan Episcopacy'',’ 1691). * ''A Discourse concerning Liturgies'', 1689 (French translation, Rotterdam, 1716). * ''Sermons and Discourses on several Divine Subjects'', 1696. This is one of the folio volumes sometimes found in old dissenting chapels, originally attached by a chain to a reading-desk (e.g. at Lydgate, Hinckley, Coventry). * ''Funeral Sermon for John Owen, D.D.'', 1720, and in Owen's ''Collection of Sermons'', 1721. Clarkson also contributed sermons to

Samuel Annesley Samuel Annesley (c. 1620 – 1696) was a prominent Puritan and nonconformist pastor, best known for the sermons he collected as the series of ''Morning Exercises''. Life He was born in Haseley, in Warwickshire in 1620, and christened on the 26th ...

's ''Morning Exercise at Cripplegate'', 1661, and to

Nathaniel Vincent Nathaniel Vincent (?–1697) was an English Nonconformist (Protestantism), nonconformist minister, ejected in 1662 and several times imprisoned. Life He was probably born in Cornwall about 1639, son of John Vincent (1591–1646), who was nominate ...

's ''Morning Exercise against Popery'', 1675. His ''Select Works'' were edited for the

Wycliffe Society Wycliffe (and other similar spellings) may refer to: People *John Wycliffe (and other spellings) (c.1320s – 1384), English theologian and Bible translator * Wycliffe (name), includes a list of other people with the name Places * Wycliffe, Coun ...

by Basil Henry Cooper and John Blackburn, 1846.

Personal life

Clarkson married Lady Elizabeth Holcroft, daughter of

Sir Henry Holcroft Sir Henry Holcroft (1586–1650) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons between 1624 and 1629 and held appointments in the Dublin Castle administration in Ireland. Biography Holcroft was the son of ...

(1586–1650) and the former Lettice Aungier (daughter of

Francis Aungier, 1st Baron Aungier of Longford Francis Aungier, 1st Baron Aungier of Longford (1558–1632), also known as Lord Aungier, was the progenitor of the Earldom of Longford, member of the House of Lords, Privy Councillor for Ireland and Master of the Rolls in Ireland under James ...

). Thomas Ridgley's funeral sermon for his daughter Gertrude was printed in 1701. David Clarkson and Lettice Aungier gave birth to: * Cornelia Clarkson * Lettice Clarkson * Matthew Clarkson (1665–1702), who served as Secretary of New York and married Catharine Van Schayck (1670–1702). The Rev. Clarkson died on 14 June 1686.

Notes

External links

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkson, David 1622 births 1686 deaths Ejected English ministers of 1662 Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge