Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln, KB (1599 – 21 May 1667), styled Lord Clinton until 1619, was an opponent of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

during and preceding the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

Family

The eldest son of the 3rd Earl of Lincoln and Elizabeth Knyvet, one of the three daughters of

Henry Knyvet Sir Henry Knyvet (c. 1537–1598) of Charlton Park, Wiltshire, was an English landowner who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Wootton Bassett in 1571 and 1572, for Malmesbury in 1584 and 1586, Wootton Bassett again in 1589 and Malmesbury again ...

— whose brother had become the 1st Baron Knyvet following the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...

. Lord Clinton studied at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

. He was appointed a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

at the investiture of Charles, Duke of York as

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

at Whitehall on 3 November 1616. After succeeding to the family titles upon the death of his father in 1619, he married firstly, in 1622, the Hon Bridget Fiennes, only daughter of William Fiennes, 7th Baron Saye and Sele (later 1st Viscount); the Earl and Countess of Lincoln had: * Edward Clinton, Baron Clinton (1624–1657), married 1644 Lady Anne Holles (died

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, October 1707), eldest daughter of the 2nd Earl of Clare, and had: ** Edward Clinton, 5th Earl of Lincoln (1645–1692), KB 1661, '' de uxoris''

seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

Lavérune Lavérune (; ) is a commune in the Hérault département in the Occitanie region in southern France. Population Sport Palla Tamburello: the main team is the ''Tambourin Club Laverune''. See also *Communes of the Hérault department A co ...

, married 1674 Jeanne de Gallières (died

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

, 1688). * Lady Catherine Clinton (died 1643), married 1639, as his first wife,

George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer (18 December 1622 – 8 August 1684), was an English landowner and politician from Cheshire, who served as an Member of Parliament, MP from 1646 to 1661, when he was elevated to the House of Lords as Booth barone ...

, leaving a daughter: The Hon. Vere Booth. * Lady Arabella Clinton (died 1667), married 1643 Robert Rolle, MP,

High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

, from whom descend the present

Barons Clinton Barons may refer to: *Baron (plural), a rank of nobility *Barons (surname), a Latvian surname *Barons, Alberta, Canada * ''Barons'' (TV series), a 2022 Australian drama series * ''The Barons'', a 2009 Belgian film Sports * Birmingham Barons, a Min ...

* Lady Margaret Clinton (died 1688), married 1651 Colonel Hugh Boscawen, PC, JP, MP, whose grandson, Hugh Fortescue, 14th Baron Clinton, became Earl Clinton in 1746. Lord Lincoln married secondly Elizabeth Gorges (died 1675). On his death in 1667, the family titles devolved upon his grandson.

Opposition to Charles I

Lord Lincoln was a

puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

and has been described as a powerful friend of the puritans of Lincolnshire. He was the son-in-law of

William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele (28 June 158214 April 1662) was an English nobleman and politician. He was a leading critic of Charles I's rule during the 1620s and 1630s. He was known also for his involvement in several companies ...

and shared his father in law's opposition to the King. He was an opponent of Charles I's forced loan and circulated a pamphlet which accused the King of attempting to overthrow parliament. He was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

for his opposition while others within the Household escaped to

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and other colonies. He refused to take the covenant and was excluded from the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Other household members from Lincoln, specifically John Holland and Robert Blow, escaped to Massachusetts and settled in the Dorchester area.

Colonisation of North America

Lord Lincoln also shared his father-in-law's enthusiasm for colonising

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. He employed

Thomas Dudley Thomas Dudley (12 October 157631 July 1653) was a New England colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the tow ...

, who went on to become the second governor of Massachusetts, as the steward of the family estate in

Sempringham Sempringham is a village in the civil parish of Pointon and Sempringham, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south from the A52 road, east from Grantham and north from Bourne. The hamlet is on the wester ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

was the location of a meeting in 1629 where

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the fir ...

and others discussed the organisation of a proposed

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

. His brother-in-law, the Hon. Charles Fiennes, and his sister,

Lady Arbella Johnson Lady Arbella Johnson (née Clinton; 3 August 1597 – 30 August 1630) was one of the early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was the daughter of Thomas Clinton, 3rd Earl of Lincoln and his wife Elizabeth. William Allen suggests that ...

, wife of Rev Isaac Johnson sailed to America with the

Winthrop Fleet The Winthrop Fleet was a group of 11 ships led by John Winthrop out of a total of 17funded by the Massachusetts Bay Company which together carried between 700 and 1,000 Puritans plus livestock and provisions from England to New England over th ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of

Theophilus Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (''theós'', "God") and φιλία (''philía'', "love or affection") can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend ...

1599 births 1667 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Nobility from Lincolnshire

12 17th-century English nobility 17th-century English Puritans Knights of the Bath