Rev. Stephen Bachiler - Part 1
My 10th Great-Grandfather
Education and Ministry in England
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1895 Drawing of St. John’s College in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England [1] Stephen Bachiler was born of unknown parentage in southern England. The exact place and date of his birth was not recorded, but the year of his birth was calculated as about 1561, from written references to his age later in life.[2] Nothing more is known of his youth until 1581 when he enrolled as a student of theology in St. John’s College at the University of Oxford at the age of twenty.[3] St. John’s, founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White, was named for St. John the Baptist. The St. John’s faculty was staffed with the most brilliant minds in England and the vast majority of them embraced the new Puritan religion which objected to the rituals kept by the Anglican Church. Stephen graduated with a B.A. degree in February 1586.[4] Stephen was first employed as a minister as vicar of the
Church of Holy Cross and St. Peter in Wherwell, Hampshire, England. He was
granted the position by William West, Lord de la Warr, (father of the Lord for
whom the state of Delaware is named) on 17 July 1587, after the death of the
previous Vicar Edward Parrett.[5]
Stephen was the fourth vicar of the Wherwell church after the Reformation in
1538. His name was listed on a plaque which hangs in the church. The village of Wherwell was located along the westerly bank
of the trout-filled Test River in Hampshire, about 65 miles southwest of London.
Here, in about 1590, Stephen married his first wife, whose name may have been
Anne Bate, but no record has been found to verify her identity. Her surname was
thought to have been Bate, as she was closely related in some way to Rev. John
Bate (perhaps his sister or sister-in-law), who succeeded Stephen as vicar at
Wherwell. Stephen and his wife raised their family in the beautiful environment
near the Test River.
River Test at Wherwell in 2005[6] Bachiler Offspring [7]The Bachilers had six children: Their first child, Nathaniel, was born around 1590. He
was twice married; Hester Mercer (or LeMercer) was his first wife, and he and
Margery, his second wife, were married before 9 April 1645, when she was
granted administration of his estate. He was a merchant in Southampton. His son
Nathaniel came to New England and lived at Hampton, New Hampshire. Deborah was born about 1592 and married Rev. John Wing, an English Puritan
minister at Flushing and the Hague, Holland, by 1611. She emigrated to New
England with her father and three of her four sons after she was widowed in 1630.
She resided at Sandwich, Massachusetts. In 1903, the Wing Family of America
erected a memorial tablet at the site of her homestead. Stephen was born about 1594 and followed in his father’s footsteps as a student
at Oxford on 18 June 1610. He attended Magdalen College there at age 16, where
he was described as the son of a minister from Southampton. He was ordained
deacon at Oxford 19 September 1619, as “Stephen Bachiler of Edmund Hall.” He
was accused of “circulating slanderous verses” with his father in 1614. After
the accusation, he left the ministry and became a successful merchant in
London. Samuel was born about 1597. He was a minister in Gorcum, Holland. He had a wife
and children, but no other information was found for him. (He was chaplain in
Sir Charles Morgan’s English regiment in Holland in 1620?) He died about 1641. Anne was born about 1601. She married a Rev. Samborne (later written Sanborn)
of Hampshire in about 1620. They had three sons, John, William, and Stephen,
who came to Massachusetts with their grandfather. After Sanborne’s death, Ann
married a second time to Henry Atkinson on 20 January 1631/2. She died in Strood,
Kent, in 1632, soon after her second marriage. Theodate was born around 1610. She married Christopher Hussey by about 1635. Christopher and Theodate Hussey were my 9th great-grandparents.  Plaque at Church of St. Peter &
Holy Cross Wherwell, England [8] Stephen Bachelor Vicar 1587-1605 Stephen’s StrugglesNothing more was written about Stephen until 1593, when he was cited in Star Chamber for having “uttered in a sermon at Newbury, very lewd speeches tending seditiously to the derogation of Her Majesty’s government.” In simpler terms, he spoke in a manner which criticized and encouraged rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I and the Anglican Church. Stephen opposed the union of church and state and was considered a liberal Puritan, zealous of human rights. His strong belief in separation of powers between church and state would be the root of many clashes with authority during his lifetime.  1836
Drawing of Star Chamber [9] Star Chamber was an English Courtroom that was named for its ceiling
ornamented with gilded stars. It was located in the old Palace of Westminster
on the Thames River, built in 1016. With jurisdiction over criminal cases, Star
Chamber could judge and punish any case which alleged violence. Common charges
were for riots, corruption, sedition, libel, robbery, murder, witchcraft,
assault, fraud, etc. King Henry VII often sat in Star Chamber and heard
proceedings. By the late sixteenth century, the Court became known for
fabricated allegations, social and political oppression, lack of due process
and unrestricted power. Any sentence, except the death penalty, was permitted
to be given as punishment for offenses.[10]
Proceedings in the Star Chamber began with a petition from
the plaintiff laying out his grievance. The defendant was allowed a response
and, then in turn, the plaintiff could offer his reply, known as a replication.
A further response from the defendant, known as a rejoinder, followed. Witnesses
could be called and depositions of sworn testimony could be taken. The court
proceedings were usually recorded on rolls of parchment. The court ordered
judgement as a decree or final order, but those records have not survived. Fines,
whippings, imprisonment, branding, lopping of ears, and other corporal
punishments were not uncommon. Church officials were in control of the Star
Chamber and other courts during Stephen’s lifetime. They specifically targeted
Puritans and other rebellious Protestants with unjust legal actions.[11] Stephen was arrested and brought before the Privy Council in
Star Chamber by the Bishop of Winchester, Thomas Martin. He was charged with
having “uttered in a sermon at Newbury very lewd speeches tending seditiously
to the derogation of her Majesty’s government” and placed before the Archbishop
of Canterbury, John Whitgift, a confidant of Queen Elizabeth I. Whitgift was
responsible for passing an act in 1593 which made Puritanism an offence.[12]
No record survived to preserve the outcome of Stephen’s appearance before the
authorities, but he was probably fined and certainly would be regarded with
suspicion in future years. The treatment of Puritans did not improve after Queen Elizabeth’s death and the accession of King James I. In January 1604, King James threatened Dr. Reynolds, the leader of the Puritans, “I will make them conform or I will harry [harass] them out of the Kingdom.”[13] His threat was immediately carried out by imprisoning four Puritans who petitioned him with a list of requests for church reform. In addition, over one hundred ministers who would not accept ceremonial conformity lost their positions between the years 1604 and 1609. Stephen was among the first to be targeted. John Bate was appointed Vicar of Wherwell on 9 August 1605,
replacing Stephen. No records survived
from the eighteen years Stephen served at Holy Cross and St. Peter but Bate
was hired after “The ejection of Stephen Bachiler.” Not only, did
Stephen lose his position, but he was excommunicated from the church. John Winthrop
wrote that Bachiler “had suffered much at the hands of the bishops.”[14]
In spite of his suffering, Stephen may have been lucky. Other Puritans who
opposed the bishops were imprisoned or sentenced to death on the gallows. Stephen probably continued to preach to congregations who embraced the Puritan faith, because he was mentioned as a minister in at least two written documents in the next few years. In 1610, he was referred to as a “Clergyman of the County of Southampton” and Adam Winthrop* of Groton in Suffolk wrote, “Mr. Bachelour the preacher dined with us” on 11 June 1621.[15] Little more is known of his circumstances before he came to Massachusetts in 1632, but he was occasionally identified in public records. *Adam Winthrop was the father of Stephen’s friend, John Winthrop, who served twelve years as the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Court Documents Surviving court records gave an occasional glimpse into
Stephen’s affairs after he was replaced at St. Peter and Holy Cross Church. He was
still living at Wherwell in 1607 when he was named in the will of Henry Shipton,
a wealthy tanner from Berkshire.[16]
He was also bequeathed 5 pounds on 19 February 1615[/16] from Edmund Allenyn a
rich squire of Hatfield Peverell, Essex, located east of London.[17]
It is likely that Stephen worked as a freelance “Lecturer” or preacher and was
endowed by wealthy patrons who supported his theological views. In a 1614 court case in Star Chamber, George Wydley, a
minister and physician, accused Stephen, identified as a clerk (minister), his
son Stephen Jr., John Bates, also a clerk, and others, of libel, defamation,
and conspiracy in verses which ridiculed him. The complaint to the court
contained a quote by John Bates saying he would keep a copy of the poem “as
a monument of his cousin’s the said Stephen Bacheler the younger his wit, who
is in truth his cousin.”[18] Stephen moved to Newton Stacey, the nearest village east of
Wherwell in 1614. It was located in the Barton Stacey civil parish in the Test
Valley district of Hampshire. He appeared in court records there. “On 28
April 1614 Stephen Bachiler was a free suitor [inhabitant] of Newton
Stacey at the view of frankpledge [appearance before the court as a witness
or for swearing allegiance to the king] of the Barton Stacey Manorial Court, and was a free suitor of Barton Stacey at the court of 2 October 1615.” Documents serving as land deeds, known
as the “Feet of Fines,” recorded that Stephen purchased land in Newton Stacey
in 1622 and 1629: “Paschal Term, 1622: Stephen
Bachiler, clerk [minister],
bought of George Hunter and Dorothy his wife, and Edward Abbott, one garden,
one orchard, 44 acres of land, one acre pasture - all in Newton Stacy, Hants.
[Hampshire]” “Paschal Term, 1629: Stephen Bachiler, clerk, bought of H. Holloway one cottage, two gardens, two orchards, 40 acres of land - all in Newton Stacy, Hants.”[19] During the time that Stephen resided
in Newton Stacey, his preaching as “a notorious inconformist” incited
the parishioners of Barton Stacey to acts that were reported to the sheriff. "Some of the
parishioners of Barton Stacey, in Hampshire, a few miles east of Wherwell,
listened to his sermons at some time before 1632, for we find that Sir Robert
Paine petitioned the Council, stating that he was sheriff of Hants in that
year, and was also chosen churchwarden of Barton Stacey, and that some of the
parishioners, petitioner's tenants, having been formerly misled by Stephen
Bachelor, a notorious nonconformist, had demolished a consecrated chapel at
Newton Stacey, neglected the repair of their parish church, maliciously opposed
petitioner's intent (to repair the church at his own charge), and executed many
things in contempt of the cannons and the bishop."[20]
Till Death Do Us Part Stephen’s first wife died sometime after Theodate was born (about
1610) and 2 March 1623/4 when he married widow Christian Weare at Abbots Ann, a
village located about two miles southwest of Andover in Hampshire, England. Their
brief marriage ended with her death before 26 March 1627, when Stephen married
a third time to Helena Mason. Helena was the 44-year-old widow of Rev. Thomas
Mason, an Anglican priest and writer from Odiham, Hampshire. This marriage also
took place in Abbots Ann.[21]
Puritan Plans Stephen was undoubtedly aware that the Pilgrims had successfully established a home in the New World where they could worship freely without persecution from the English monarchy. The Pilgrims were separatists, seeking a complete break with the English church, which differed from the Puritans who only wished to reform the existing church. In 1629, another group, “The Company of Husbandmen,” also known as “The Plough [Plow] Company,” was seeking immigrants to settle in New England. Stephen invested one hundred pounds in the company in 1630 and planned to leave England. He sold his land in Newton Stacy and lived in South Stoneham, Hampshire, for a short time before sailing to America. The deed in the Feet of Fines records contained Stephen’s signature. “Michaelmas Term, 1630: W. Houghton,
Thomas Roberts et al. bought of Stephen Bachiler, clerk, and Helen his wife,
two gardens, two orchards, 80 acres of land - two acres pasture - all in Newton
Stacy, Hants.”[22] “Trinity Term, 1631: Thomas Mann bought of Stephen Bachiler Clerk, and Helen his wife, certain land in Newton Stacey.”[23] The Plough Company failed in their settlement efforts, but Stephen
was not informed of the company’s state of affairs and continued investment in
the venture. The first two groups representing the company scattered soon after
arriving in New England. Their grant near present-day Portland, Maine, was in a
remote area covered in rocky terrain unsuitable for farming. They arrived
before the especially bitter winter of 1630-31, and were likely unprepared for
the harsh weather, as they had carried few supplies to sustain them in their
new colony. On 23 June 1631, Stephen requested permission for himself, his wife
Helen, aged forty-eight years, and his widowed daughter Ann Sandburn, aged
thirty years, resident in the Strand, to visit his sons and daughters in
Flushing, Holland. He listed his residence as South Stoneham in the County of
Southampton. He was to return in two months.[24]
Stephen may have used this visit to persuade his daughters and grandchildren to
accompany him to New England the following year. An article in “The Genealogist, Volume XIX,” written by Victor C. Sanborn explained the efforts and failure of the Plough Company more fully:[25]     When the Plough Company abandoned their grant in Maine, Stephen was forced to seek other accommodations in the New World or give up his ministry. He joined another group of English Puritans who were forming a colony in Massachusetts Bay led by his friend John Winthrop. "When, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Company
obtained a royal charter to plan a colony in New England, John Winthrop joined
the company, pledging to sell his English estate and take his family to
Massachusetts if the company government and charter were also transferred to
America. The other members agreed to these terms and elected him governor." [26]  Page from John Winthrop’s Journal [27] Winthrop’s journals provided a first-hand account of the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and were the source of many references to Stephen which helped piece together the chronology of his life in the New World. Next - Crossing the Atlantic in 1632 Sources: [1] Lang, Andrew, Oxford: A Brief Historical and Descriptive Notes, London, Seeley and Company, 1896, illustration, p. 3; accessed www.fromoldbooks.org [2] Savage, James, The History of New England from 1630-1649 by John Winthrop, Esq. First Governour of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, Volume I, Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1853, p. 93; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org [3 ] Foster, Joseph, Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford, 1500-1714, Their Parentage, Birthplace, and Year of Birth, With a Record of Their Degrees, Volume 1, London, United Kingdom, Parker and Company, 1891, p. 53; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.orgT [4] Foster, p. 53 [5] Batchelder, Charles E., Rev. Stephen Bachiler, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 1892, Volume XLVI, pages 60-61, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1892; accessed https://archive.org
[6] River Test at Wherwell, Photograph of Wherwell in the County of Hampshire, unknown author, 2005; accessed www.picturesofengland.com [7] Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633 Vol. 1, A-F, Boston, Massachusetts, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1996-2011, pp.62-63, Stephen Bachiler; accessed www.ancestry.com, images 136-144 [8] Digital Image from St. Peter & Holy Cross Church at Wherwell; accessed mjoderkin1 Public Tree, www.ancestry.com [9] Walford, Edward, Old and New London: A Narrative of Its History, Its People, and Its Places, Volume III, London, England, Cassell Petter & Galpin, 1873, The Star Chamber, p. 504; accessed https://archive.org [10] Walford, pp. 500-502 [11] Court of Star Chamber: Proceedings, STAC; accessed https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk [12] Bailey, Mark, The Revd Stephen Bachiler, PDF, June 2016; accessed Lane Memorial Library, Hampton, New Hampshire website, 50.199.193.172/hampton/biog/bachilertoc.htm [13] Batchelder, p. 62 [14] Savage, James, The History of New England from 1630-1649 by John Winthrop, Esq. First Governour of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, Volume II, Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1853, p.53; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org [15] Winthrop, John, Winthrop Papers, Volume I, 1498-1629, Boston, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Historical Society, 1929, p. 258; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org [16] Sanborn, Victor Channing, Notes, Rev. Stephen Bachiler; The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 1920, Volume LXXIV, p. 320, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1920; accessed https://archive.org; referencing Will of Henry Shipton, 1607, Archdeaconry Court of Berkshire, fol. 260 [18] Anderson, pp. 63-64, referencing Court of Star Chamber Proceedings. James I, STAC 8/297/25, Wydley v Bacheler, 1614; accessed https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk [19] Pierce, p. 76 [20] Batchelder, p. 62, referencing Domestic Calendar of State Papers, 1635 [21] Anderson, p.62, image 137 [22] Pierce, p. 76 [23] Pierce, p. 77 [24] Batchelder, p. 62 [25] Sanborn, Victor C., Stephen Bachiler and the Plough Company of 1630, The Genealogist, A Quarterly Magazine of Genealogical, Antiquarian, Topographical, and Heraldic Research, New Series, volume XIX, H.W. Forsyth Harwood, editor, London, United Kingdom, George Bell and Sons, 1903, pp. 270-274; accessed www.google.com/books [26] Dunn,
Richard S., John Winthrop, American Colonial Governor; accessed www.britannica.com, December 2020 [27] Digital
Image of John Winthrop Journal, History of New England, manuscript, v.
1, p. 1; accessed www.masshist.org |
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