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Today marks the 350th anniversary of the burial of John Thorndike, my 9th-great grandfather on the Crosby side. On November 3, 1668, John was buried in Westminster Abbey, London. His body lays among noted poets, scientists, Kings and Queens. But why?
John Thorndike was baptized February 23, 1610/11* at Great Carlton, Lincolnshire, England. John was the second child of Alice (Coleman) & Francis Thorndike. During the early 1630s, John emigrated from England and settled in the town of Ipswich in Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was there that John married Elizabeth Stratton and raised seven children. By all appearances, John was a farmer and owned 195 acres of land.
On July 29, 1668, John wrote his will, in which he said he planned “to go this year to England” with his two youngest daughters. (Some sources say that John’s wife, Elizabeth, died two days before he wrote his will. But I can find no proofs for that claim.) Upon John’s death the bulk of his estate would pass to Paul, his only son. John also said that if, after his death, his two youngest daughters should return to New England, that they should share 100 acres of land and each receive 20£ from their brother Paul. John also gave some indication in his will that he might not return from England, but no reason was stated.
In early November 1668, John traveled to London with his daughters and stayed at the home of his brother, Herbert. Herbert was a priest and lived comfortably in a house on the grounds of Westminster Abbey. However, life wasn’t always so good for Herbert. During the 1st and 2nd English Civil Wars, Herbert was employed at Trinity College. Herbert was known to be sympathetic to the Royalists and, in 1643, he was removed from his post in retribution. The following year Oliver Cromwell made sure that Herbert was not elected as Master of Sydney Sussex College. Oliver Cromwell came into power at the end of the 2nd English Civil War and ruled England as Lord Protector. One of Cromwell’s first orders of business was to have Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud and King Charles I beheaded. All things considered, things could have been much worse for Herbert.
In 1661, three years after Cromwell’s death, Herbert was appointed as a priest at Westminster Abbey. The official web site for the abbey, identifies Herbert as a writer and a priest, who was a “scholar and theologian of considerable ability.” It was in Herbert’s home, on the grounds of Westminster Abbey, where John Thorndike died in early November 1668.
On November 3, 1668, John Thorndike was buried in the east Cloister at Westminster abbey. His interment at such a prestigious place was the result Herbert’s position and status at the abbey.
Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have been in Westminster Abbey; 39 total. There have been 17 royal weddings at the abbey since 1100.
Construction of the first church on the site began between 1042 and 1052, during the reign of King Edward the Confessor. (The church was consecrated two weeks before Edward’s death in 1066.) Henry III began the construction of the current church in 1245.
Seventeen English monarchs are buried at Westminster Abbey, including all of the House of Tudor monarchs, with the exception of Henry VIII (but one of his wives is buried in the abbey). Other notable burials at the abbey include Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking, Charles Dickens, Geoffrey Chaucer, Oliver Cromwell** and of course John Thorndike.
John’s daughters remained in England after his death and lived with Herbert. Martha and Alice Thorndike, “being of ripe age”, were baptized at the abbey on April 10, 1669; they were 14 and 16 years old, respectively. Herbert also named Alice and Martha in his will and “made considerable provision” for them so long as they would not return to New England.
John’s estate was appraised on June 29, 1671. Below is a summary of his estate:
Herbert Thorndike died in 1672 and was buried alongside John in the east Cloister. Their grave marker, which can longer be read or found, was inscribed in Latin and read: “Herbert Thorndick Canon of this Church 1672. John Thorndick 1668”.
Asides:
Royal Peculiar- Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral. Since 1560, the building is no longer an abbey or a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England “Royal Peculiar”—a church responsible directly to the sovereign.
*** Burials inside Westminster Abbey, a list of the people buried in the abbey and the location of their graves.
* February 23, 1610/11 – “Old Style”(OS)/”New Style”(NS) – Prior to 1752, March 1st was when the new year began (OS). After 1752 the new year began January 1st (NS). John’s baptism was recorded as Feb 23, 1610 (OS)– when February was the last month of the year. For that reason, old style dates are written as 1610/11; this notation is only needed for January & February.
** Oliver Cromwell was posthumously beheaded. Cromwell died in 1658 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. In 1671, on the 12th anniversary of the beheading of Charles I, Cromwell’s corpse was dug up and beheaded. For many years his head was displayed at various places around the country. An 1814 bill of sale was found for the head and marks the last time its whereabouts were known.
Further Reading @ ePluribus.me
(Other Crosby ancestor’s impacted by the English Civil Wars and Oliver Cromwell)
My Line From John Thorndike:
John > Sarah (Low) Thorndike > Sarah (Grover) Low > John Grover Jr. > Rebeckah (Elwell) Grover > Rebecca (Crosby) Elwell > Edward Crosby III > John Crosby > John A. Crosby > Roy Crosby > Maurice Crosby > Me.
Sources:
- John Thorndyke – Westminster Abbey
- Herbert Thorndyke – Westminster Abbey
- The Great Migration Begins – Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vol III (P-W), Pages 1811-1814; John Thorndike
- A Thorndike Family History, edited by Scott C. Steward and John Bradley Arthaud (Boston, Mass.: Newbury Street Press, 2000
- Westminster Abbey History https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/
- Descendants of John Thorndike of Essex county, Massachusetts; 1960, Morgan Stafford
- Wikipedia (for general dates & information!)
Spelling Variations: Thorndike, Thorndyke, Thorndick
