Samuel Jeake (1623–1690), dubbed the Elder to distinguish him from his son, was an English merchant, nonconformist,

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an 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 artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

and

astrologer Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

from

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

, East Sussex,

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Life

Born at Rye in Sussex, on 9 October 1623, he may have belonged to one of the French Protestant families who settled in the county at the end of the 16th century: the name Jeake, written also Jake, Jaque, Jeakes, and Jacque, does point to a French origin. Samuel's father was a baker. His mother, a pious woman, was daughter of the Rev. John Pearson of Peasmarsh, Sussex; she died 20 November 1639. In 1640 Samuel severed his connection with the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, and was appointed minister of a

conventicle A conventicle originally meant "an assembly" and was frequently used by ancient writers to mean "a church." At a semantic level, ''conventicle'' is a Latinized synonym of the Greek word for ''church'', and references Jesus' promise in Matthew 18: ...

, apparently Baptist. He later became an attorney-at-law at Rye, and in 1651 was made a freeman and common, or town, clerk. This office he resigned, or was deprived of, after the passing of the Corporation Act 1661 excluding

dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin , 'to disagree') is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Dissent may include political opposition to decrees, ideas or doctrines and it may include opposition to those things or the fiat of ...

from municipal corporations. As a sectarian preacher, Jeake frequently clashed with the authorities. He was prosecuted before the privy council in 1681, and his meeting-house was shut up. Next year he was again delated, under the Five Mile Act. Brought to London, he remained there till 1687, when the toleration which

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

extended to the dissenters enabled him to return to Rye. There he took part in meetings till his death, on 3 October 1690. Jeake dabbled in alchemy, and made a calculation of his own

horoscope A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...

. He had a large library, and compiled a catalogue. Remains of a storehouse built by him, and of a horoscope on the front, survived in Mermaid Street, Rye.

Works

Jeake is primarily known for his extensive diaries, which are today considered a valuable historical resource. Jeake also wrote on mathematics, and made the first recorded use of the terms " addend", " cosecant", and " proper fraction". Cossical characters

His principal mathematical work was ''Logisticelogia, or Arithmetick Surveighed and Reviewed'' published in four books in 1696. This was edited by his son Samuel Jeake, the younger (1652–1699). Jeake was a nonconformist, but disliked

presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

as much as the established church; and he spoke contemptuously of the Independents as "Babell, from the differences that have happened among the master-builders". He wrote voluminously on theological controversy, astrology, and antiquarian subjects, but published nothing himself. While town-clerk, he bought a collection of statutes referring to the

Cinque ports The confederation of Cinque Ports ( ) is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

, which belonged to the borough of Rye. This was the foundation of his major work on ''The Charters of the Cinque Ports, two Ancient Towns, and their Members. Translated into English, with Annotations, Historical and Critical, thereupon. Wherein divers old Words are explain'd, and some of their ancient Customs and Privileges observ'd'', completed in 1678, but not printed until 1728. A translation of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

's charter to the Cinque ports, published for the mayor and

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s of

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

(1682), is also attributed to Jeake.

In literature

When Conrad Aiken was

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 ...

correspondent for ''

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'', he used the pen name "Samuel Jeake Junior".

Family

In 1651 Jeake married Frances Hartridge of

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Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, and they had three children, of whom their son Samuel Jeake the Younger survived them.

References

Samual Jeake the elder and Younger details
Eyeball.fm. Accessed 02-04-2010.

at Jeakes House Hotel, Rye Sussex. Accessed 02-04-2010.

Life

Works

In literature

Family

References

Further reading