Thomas Minors (16 October 1609 – September 1677) was an English merchant and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at various times between 1654 and 1660. Minors was the only son of Robert Minors of Uttoxeter and his wife Gertrude Hunt, daughter of Edmund Hunt of Marchington. He became a draper in Lichfield and was sheriff of Lichfield from 1642 to 1643. He did not take part in the Civil War, while the city was held by the Royalists, but he was a Presbyterian and probably supported the parliamentarian cause. He was commissioner for assessment from 1647 to 1652 and was bailiff from 1648 to 1649. In 1653 he was commissioner for poor prisoners and became J.P. for Staffordshire until July 1660. History of Parliament Online - Thomas Minors
/ref> In 1654, Minors was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

for the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the Ho ...

. He was also commissioner for scandalous ministers. In 1656 he was re-elected MP for Lichfield in the

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in ...

. He was commissioner for assessment in 1657 and bailiff again from 1657 to 1658. He was commissioner for assessment from Jan. 1660 to 1661 and commissioner for militia in March 1660. In 1660 he was initially defeated as MP for Lichfield but won the seat again on petition in June 1660. In 1664 he was commissioner for assessment again and held the role until his death. In 1669 he appeared before the Privy Council for keeping unlawful meetings in his house. His house was later licensed for Presbyterian worship under the Declaration of Indulgence. Minors died at the age of 67 and was buried in St Mary’s, Lichfield on 30 September 1677. In his will he endowed a school at Lichfield which was to teach thirty poor boys to spell and read so they could read the Bible. Minors married firstly Sarah Burnes daughter of John Burnes, mercer of Lichfield and had a son. She died in 1667 and he married secondly Dorothy Jesson, who was the sister of

William Jesson William Jesson (1580 – 1651) was an English dyer and politician who was active in local government in Coventry and sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1648. Jesson was the son of Richard Jesson of Coventry and his wife Elizabeth Hill. ...

of Lichfield.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minors, Thomas 1609 births 1677 deaths

English merchants People from Lichfield English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1660 English Presbyterians Founders of English schools and colleges 17th-century philanthropists