Joseph Farrow (1652?–1692), was a nonconformist clergyman.

Life

Farrow was born at

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...

, of ‘religious parents,’ and educated at the grammar school of that town. He was afterwards entered at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, as a member of which he proceeded M.A. On quitting the university he became private tutor in a family at

Louth, Lincolnshire Louth () is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): Louth serves as an important town for a large rural area of eastern Lincolnshire. Visitor ...

, for some years, during which time he refused the mastership of the newly erected free school at

Brigg Brigg ( /'brɪg/) is a market town in North Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 5,076 in the 2001 UK census, the population increased to 5,626 at the 2011 census. The town lies at the junction of the River Ancholme and east–west tra ...

in the same county. He was episcopally ordained, and, after he had been successively chaplain to Lady Hussey of Caythorpe, Lincolnshire, and to Sir Richard Earle of

Stragglethorpe Stragglethorpe is a village in the civil parish of Brant Broughton with Stragglethorpe, in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated approximately east of Newark-on-Trent. The population of the civil parish ...

, Lincolnshire, he returned to Boston and was curate there to Dr. Obadiah Howe until Howe's death in February 1683. He supplied Howe's place until the arrival of a new vicar. From Boston he removed into the family of Sir William Ellys at

Nocton, Lincolnshire Nocton is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the B1202 road, south-east from Lincoln city centre. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 819. To the east o ...

, where he continued chaplain until his death. Among his friends he numbered Edward Fowler, afterwards bishop of Gloucester,

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

, and

Thomas Burnet Thomas Burnet (c. 1635? – 27 September 1715) was an English theologian and writer on cosmogony. Life He was born at Croft near Darlington in 1635. After studying at Northallerton Grammar School under Thomas Smelt, he went to Clare Colle ...

, master of the Charterhouse. He died unmarried at

Newark-upon-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road bypasses the town on the line of th ...

, Nottinghamshire, on 22 July 1692, aged about forty, and was buried in the chancel of the church. As he was never beneficed, he escaped the penalty of his nonconformity.

Benjamin Calamy Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

, who observes that ‘he was not ejected in 1662,’ forgetting that Farrow could not then have been more than ten years old, gives him a wonderful character for learning, probity, and sanctity of life. He had, it seems, ‘a political head, and would give surprising conjectures about public affairs, by which he foretold the several steps of the glorious Revolution.’ Calamy mentions as his works ‘several sets of Sermons,’ which were ‘thought not much inferior to those of the most celebrated preachers of the age.’ He also left some ‘valuable manuscripts.’

References

1652 births 1692 deaths 17th-century English people People from Boston, Lincolnshire Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Clergy from Lincolnshire {{UK-Christian-clergy-stub