Samuel Carte (21 October 1652 – 16 April 1740) was an English

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

and

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. After attending

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, he held many ecclesiastical positions in his adult life, publishing two sermons. He was an active local antiquarian researcher, assisting several fellow antiquarians in their histories of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, and publishing several articles and one book on such subjects.

Biography

Samuel Carte was born on 21 October 1652 in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, to the local clothier, Thomas Carte. Here, he was educated at the local free school, after which he

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

from Magdalen College,

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on 10 June 1669, at the age of 17. He graduated with a BA in 1673 and MA in 1675. He received deacon's orders from the

Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Mi ...

, Thomas Wood, at

Eccleshall Eccleshall is a town and civil parish in the Stafford district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is located seven miles northwest of Stafford, and six miles west-southwest of Stone. Eccleshall is twinned with Sancerre in France. His ...

on 21 September 1673. Following by being ordained a priest by the Bishop of London, Henry Compton, on 10 June 1677. Carte's first ecclesiastical position was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Crick, Northamptonshire Crick is a village in West Northamptonshire in England. It is close to the border with Warwickshire, east of Rugby and northwest of Northampton. The villages of Crick and West Haddon were by-passed by the A428 main road from Rugby to Northampt ...

, appointed on 26 March 1678. On 29 September 1682, he was made a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...

, a position he held until shortly before his death. From 26 March 1684 to 2 February 1693, Carte was the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Clifton-upon-Dunsmore Clifton-upon-Dunsmore is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire in England on the north-eastern outskirts of Rugby, approximately from Rugby town centre. The population of the parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,304. ...

, Warwickshire. In 1691, Carte returned to Coventry, where he served as the master of the local free school. He returned to his career as a clergyman, working as vicar of

Dunchurch Dunchurch is a large village and civil parish on the south-western outskirts of Rugby in Warwickshire, England, approximately southwest of central Rugby. The civil parish which also includes the nearby hamlet of Toft, had a population of 4,12 ...

from 2 July 1697 to 8 June 1699. On 7 January 1699, he was appointed both as the Preacher throughout the

diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leices ...

, and the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Eastwell, Leicestershire Eastwell is a village and ecclesiastical parish in Leicestershire, England. The village's name means 'eastern spring/stream'. For the purposes of administration Eastwell is part of the civil parish of Eaton that, in turn, forms part of the ...

, the latter position he held up until his death. In 1700, he was made

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

and sequestrator at

Leicester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. The church was elevated to a collegiate church in 1922 ...

, where, on 21 October 1712, he was made vicar, holding the office until the year of his death. Independent of these offices, Carte engaged in much theological and antiquarian work. As a clergyman, two of his

sermons A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

were published: ''A Dissuasive from Murmuring: Being a Sermon on 1 Cor. X. 10.'' (1694) and ''The Cure of Self-Conceit: A Sermon Preach'd at St. Martin's in Leicester on Sunday, May 13. 1705'' (1705). In the 1720s, he also engaged in a lengthy argument with

John Jackson John or Johnny Jackson may refer to: Entertainment Art * John Baptist Jackson (1701–1780), British artist * John Jackson (painter) (1778–1831), British painter * John Jackson (engraver) (1801–1848), English wood engraver * John Richardson ...

, a controversial unitarian cleric of Leicester Cathedral, concerning the validity of

baptism by immersion Immersion baptism (also known as baptism by immersion or baptism by submersion) is a method of baptism that is distinguished from baptism by affusion (pouring) and by aspersion (sprinkling), sometimes without specifying whether the immersion is ...

and the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. Contemporary antiquaries, including

Browne Willis Browne Willis (16 September 1682 – 5 February 1760) was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708. Early life Willis was born at Blandford St Mary, Dorset, the eldest son of Thomas Wil ...

(for his 1718-19 ''Mitred Abbots'') and

John Throsby John Throsby (1740–1803) was an English antiquary. Life The son of Nicholas Throsby, alderman of Leicester and mayor in 1759, by Martha Mason, his second wife, was born at Leicester on 21 December 1740, and baptised at St. Martin's Church t ...

(for his 1791 ''History and Antiquities of Leicester''), consulted Carte over the history of Leicestershire. After Carte's death, John Nichols used his work extensively for his ''History of Leicestershire'' (1795-1811). Carte's most important publication was antiquarian in nature: ''Tabula Chronologica Archiepiscopatuum et Episcopatuum in Anglia et Wallia hronological table of Archbishoprics and Bishoprics in England and Wales' (1714), a compilation of lists on the descent of the offices of archbishops and bishops. Carte also had a letter to

Humfrey Wanley Humfrey Wanley (21 March 1672 – 6 July 1726) was an English librarian, palaeographer and scholar of Old English, employed by manuscript collectors such as Robert and Edward Harley. He was the first keeper of the Harleian Library, now the Har ...

published in the ''

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...

''. Carte married Anne, together having thirteen children between 1686 and 1704, with Anne predeceasing Carte at a young age. Carte died in Leicester on 16 April 1740, and was buried at Leicester Cathedral next to his wife and two of his children. His will, written on 19 January 1736, put most of his possessions in the hands of his eldest son,

Thomas Carte Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. Thomas left a large number of historical papers to the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

upon his death, including several papers by his father, Samuel, such as his

commonplace book Commonplace books (or commonplaces) are a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books. They have been kept from antiquity, and were kept particularly during the Renaissance and in the nineteenth century. Such books are simi ...

and a "Chronological Account of Extraordinary Events in all Parts of the World". His grave reads:

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

A Dissuasive from Murmuring (1694) at Google Books
(Full preview)
The Cure of Self-conceit (1705) at Google Books
(No preview)
"Will of Samuel Carte, Clerk, Vicar of Saint Martin Leicester, Leicestershire" at The National Archives
(Watermarked preview, download requires payment)
"Part of a letter from the Reverend Mr. Samuel Carte, Rector of St. Margaret's Parish in Leicester, to Mr. Humfrey Wanley, F. R. S. concerning an ancient tessellated, or mosaic work, at Leicester" in the Philosophical Transactions
(Full preview) {{DEFAULTSORT:Carte, Samuel 1652 births 1740 deaths 17th-century antiquarians 18th-century antiquarians 17th-century English Anglican priests 18th-century English Anglican priests English antiquarians Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Clergy from Coventry Clergy from Leicester