Ichabod Chaunc(e)y, (1635–1691) was an English physician and

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

. He was an army chaplain at Dunkirk before 1660, beneficed in Bristol, ejected from his living for nonconformity in 1662, and practised medicine at Bristol from 1662 to 1684. He was banished from England for nonconformity and other offences in 1684, and returned to Bristol in 1686.

Origins

Ichabod Chauncey was born at the

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically own ...

Ware, Hertfordshire Ware is a town in Hertfordshire, England close to the county town of Hertford. It is also a civil parishes in England, civil parish in East Hertfordshire district. Location The town lies on the north–south A10 road (Great Britain), A10 road ...

, the second son of

Charles Chauncy Charles Chauncy (baptised 5 November 1592 – 19 February 1672) was an Anglo-American Congregational clergyman, educator, and secondarily, a physician. He is also known as the 2nd President of Harvard. Life Charles Chauncy was born at Arde ...

(1592–1672), the Puritan minister of Ware, by his wife Catherine, (1604–). Charles was suspended for his opposition to Laudianism and in 1638 emigrated with his family to colonial

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, where he became a minister and president of

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

.Benedict 2008.

Rise and fall

Ichabod graduated B.A. from Harvard in 1651 and proceeded M.A. in 1654 before returning to England. He was chaplain to

Sir Edward Harley Sir Edward Harley, 21 October 1624 to 8 December 1700, was an English politician from Herefordshire. A devout Puritan who fought for Parliament in the First English Civil War, Harley belonged to the moderate Presbyterian faction, which opposed ...

's regiment at

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Uniformity Act was passed. Shortly afterwards he obtained a living in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, and, being ejected for nonconformity, practised

physic Physic may refer to: * The study or practice of medicine * A substance administered as medicine, or the medicinal plant from which it is extracted: ** '' Gillenia stipulata'', a plant known commonly as Indian physic ** ''Jatropha'', a genus of pla ...

there for eighteen years, and obtained a considerable practice. In his ''Innocence vindicated'' he states that in 1684 he was a M.A. of thirty years' standing, and for twenty had been a licentiate of the

London College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

.Bickley 1887, p. 169. In 1682 he was prosecuted for not attending church and other religious offences under the Religion Act 1592 ( 35 Eliz. I, c. 1). His defence was that he accommodated his worship as nearly as he could to that of the

primitive church The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, Christian countries, and the Christians with their various denominations, from the 1st century to the present. Christianity originated with the ministry of Jesus, a Jewish teache ...

, but he was convicted and fined. In 1684 he was again prosecuted under the same act, and was imprisoned in the common gaol for eighteen weeks before he was tried, when he was sentenced to lose his estate both real and personal, and to leave the realm within three months. From a declaration drawn up by the grand jury, he appears to have been in the habit of defending such dissenters in Bristol as were prosecuted under the various acts relating to religion; but from the ''Records of the Broadmead Meeting, Bristol'', his persecution appears to have originated in the private malice of the town clerk.

Later life and death

Chauncey resided in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, where he studied medicine at

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

and ministered to a congregation, until 1686, when a pardon allowed him to return to Bristol. There he died on 25 July 1691 and was interred on 27 July in St Philip's churchyard. His wife, Mary, and three sons—Staunton, Charles, and Nathaniel (1679–1750)—survived him; the second son was the father of Charles Chauncey, a physician; the third son served an Independent congregation at Devizes, Wiltshire, for nearly fifty years.

Works

His only work is ''Innocence vindicated by a Narrative of the Proceedings of the Court of Sessions in Bristol against I. C., Physician, to his Conviction on the Statute of the 36th Elizabeth'', 1684. This was printed in Holland during his exile there, and provided a defence of his actions in England.

References

Sources