Sir Thomas Gerard, 1st Baronet (1560 – 16 February 1621) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

at various times between 1597 and 1621. Gerard was the son of Sir Thomas Gerard, of Bryn Hall and his wife Elizabeth Port, daughter of Sir John Port, of

Etwall Etwall is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, southwest of Derby on the A50 road, A50. The population at the 2011 Census was 2,906. Geography Etwall is located between the A516 road, A516 bypass an ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. His brother Fr.

John Gerard John Gerard (also John Gerarde, 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular garde ...

, was later ordained a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

and operated an underground ministry in

Elizabethan England The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

. Thomas Gerard matriculated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

on 20 July 1578, aged 18. In 1579 he was a student of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. His parents and brother John were Catholics and he was tutored by a Catholic. His first wife Cecily was "a recusant and indicted thereof" and he employed a "notorious recusant" to educate his child and was described as "of evil affection in religion" in 1590. Gerard was involved in an unfortunate incident in July 1583. He and wife were looking after a young Lancashire heiress Suzanne Abraham. A fencing master who was a relation of the girl invited them to a house in London near

Cecil House Cecil House refers to two historical mansions on the Strand, London, in the vicinity of the Savoy. The first was a 16th-century house on the north side, where the Strand Palace Hotel now stands. The second was built in the early 17th century on th ...

. While the rest of the women were playing cards, the wife of the fencing master took Suzanne Abraham upstairs where she was secretly married to a stranger to gain her fortune. Recorder Fleetwood was appalled at the case. Henry Ellis, ''Original Letters'', series 1 vol. 2 (London, 1824), pp. 292-3. Nevertheless, in 1597, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. History of Parliament Online - Thomas Gerard
/ref> He succeeded his father to the family estates in September 1601. He was knighted on 18 April 1603. When the order of baronet was first instituted on 22 May 1611, he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and the £1,000, that was due to the Crown for such creation, was returned in consideration of his Father's sufferings in the cause of the King's mother Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1614 he was elected MP for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. He was elected MP for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in 1621. George E. Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage, Vol. 1'' (1900)
/ref> Gerard died at the age of about 60 and was buried at St Margaret's, Westminster, on 16 February 1621. Gerard married firstly Cecily Maney, daughter of Sir Walter Maney, of Staplehurst in about 1580, with whom he had a son and heir

Thomas 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 ...

. He married secondly, after 1606, Mary Lee, widow of Sir Robert Lee, Lord Mayor of London, and formerly of William Smith, of London and daughter of Sir James Hawes who was also Lord Mayor. His third wife was Mary Uvedale, widow of Sir Edward Uvedale and formerly of the Hon. Anthony Browne and daughter of Sir William Dormer, of Wing, Buckinghamshire. He had no children by his second and third wives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard, Thomas 1560 births 1621 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lancashire Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Liverpool People from Wigan Baronets in the Baronetage of England Burials at St Margaret's, Westminster English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622