Thomas Bargrave
Thomas Bargrave | |
|---|---|
| Rector of Henrico Parish | |
| In office | 1619–1621 |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1614 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1581 Kent, England |
| Died | 1621 (aged 39–40) Virginia Colony, U.S. |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Occupation | Minister, preacher |
| Alma mater | Clare College, Cambridge |
Thomas Bargrave (1581–1621) was a colonial American Anglican minister who served as rector of Henrico Parish.
Early life
[edit]Bargrave was born around 1581 in Kent, England.[1][2] He was educated at Clare College, Cambridge, earning a Bachelor of Arts around 1600, Master of Arts in 1603, Bachelor of Divinity in 1610, and Doctor of Divinity in 1621.[1]
Ministry
[edit]Bargrave served as vicar of Eythorne, Kent, from 1614 until his departure for Virginia around April 1619 alongside his two brothers, George and John.[3][4][5]
By 1619, Bargrave had succeeded previous rectors such as Alexander Whitaker to become rector of Henrico Parish, serving the settlement of Henricus on the James River.[6][7][8] He ministered to the colonists and supported religious instruction, including outreach toward local Native Americans.[9][6][10]
Proposed College at Henrico
[edit]In 1618, the Virginia Company of London obtained a royal charter (with Bargrave's coordination) to establish a university on 15,000 acres of land set aside at Henricus.[11] Although the institution never materialized, the plan included a college to educate both English colonists and indigenous youth. Bargrave actively supported this effort.[12]
Outside of his ministry, Bargrave also established the first private plantation in Virginia in 1619.[13][14]
Death
[edit]Upon his death in 1621,[15] he bequeathed his personal library, valued at 100 marks (approximately £70), to the projected college at Henrico library.[16][17][18] His gift is among the earliest recorded philanthropic contributions to higher education in colonial North America.[19][20][21]
Legacy
[edit]Although the Henrico college project was short-lived, Bargrave’s vision prefigured later institutions—particularly the College of William & Mary (chartered in 1693). His bequest marked an early expression of charitable support for higher education in the English colonies.[19][22][23]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Bell, James B. (2013), Bell, James B. (ed.), "The Libraries of Two Seventeenth-Century Ministers", Empire, Religion and Revolution in Early Virginia, 1607–1786, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 96–106, doi:10.1057/9781137327925_9, ISBN 978-1-137-32792-5, retrieved 2025-06-16
- ^ Bruce, Philip Alexander (1927). Social Life of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century: An Inquiry Into the Origin of the Higher Planter Class, Together with a Description of the Habits, Customs, and Diversions of the People. Bell.
- ^ Tyler, Lyon Gardiner (1915). Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Under the Editorial Supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler. Lewis historical publishing Company.
- ^ Tyler, Lyon Gardiner (1907). Narratives of Early Virginia, 1606-1625. C. Scribner's Sons.
- ^ Goodwin, Edward Lewis (1927). The Colonial Church in Virginia. Morehouse Publishing Company.
- ^ a b Mason, George Carrington (1947). "The Colonial Churches of Henrico and Chesterfield Counties, Virginia: Part I". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 55 (1): 45–60. ISSN 0042-6636.
- ^ A History and Record of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of West Virginia: And, Before the Formation of the Diocese in 1878, in the Territory Now Known as the State of West Virginia. Tribune Company, printers. 1902.
- ^ Neill, Edward Duffield (1877). Notes on the Virginia Colonial Clergy.
- ^ Chorley, E. Clowes (1930). "The Planting of the Church in Virginia". The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine. 10 (3): 192–213. doi:10.2307/1921286. ISSN 1936-9530.
- ^ The Spirit of Missions. J. L. Powell. 1874.
- ^ Colonial Churches: In the Original Colony of Virginia. Southern Churchman Company. 1908.
- ^ "Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography". usgenwebsites.org. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
- ^ Neill, Edward Duffield (1885). Virginia Vetusta: During the Reign of James the First. Joel Munsell's Sons.
- ^ "Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography". usgenwebsites.org. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
- ^ Bruce, Philip Alexander; Stanard, William Glover (1919). The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Virginia Historical Society.
- ^ "Henrico College, Virginia". The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
- ^ Powell, William S. (1948). "Books in the Virginia Colony before 1624". The William and Mary Quarterly. 5 (2): 177–184. doi:10.2307/1917454. ISSN 0043-5597.
- ^ History of Education in West Virginia. Tribune Printing Company. 1904.
- ^ a b Brown, Ron (2022-07-01). "Charitable Bequests in Colonial America". Gift Planning History. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
- ^ Episcopal Historical Tracts. Church Missions Publishing Company. 1893.
- ^ Quay, Sara E.; Watling, Gabrielle R. (2008-11-30). Cultural History of Reading: [2 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-0-313-07167-6.
- ^ McCartney, Martha W. (2007). Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 978-0-8063-1774-8.
- ^ Hunt, Thomas; Carper, James (2018-10-11). Religious Higher Education in the United States: A Source Book. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-81059-6.