Sir Thomas Temple, 1st Baronet, of Stowe facts for kids
Sir Thomas Temple, 1st Baronet (born January 9, 1567 – died February 10, 1637) was an important English landowner and a member of Parliament. He lived during a time of big changes in England.
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Early Life of Thomas Temple
Thomas Temple was the oldest son of John Temple and Susan Spencer. He was baptized in Everton, Northamptonshire, in 1567. This was his mother's childhood home. As a child, he moved with his father to Stowe House in Buckinghamshire. His family was well-known and followed the Puritan faith. Puritans were a group of Protestants who wanted to make the Church of England simpler.
When he was 16, Thomas started studying at University College, Oxford, in 1582. Later, in 1584, he joined Lincoln's Inn. This was a place where people studied law.
Sir Thomas Temple's Family
Around 1585 or 1586, Sir Thomas married Hester Sandys. She was the daughter of Miles Sandys.
Sir Thomas and Hester had many children, fifteen in total! Two of them sadly died when they were babies. Of the others, four were sons and nine were daughters. Here are some of their children:
- Susan (born 1587)
- Hester (born 1589)
- Bridget (born 1591)
- Peter (born 1592) - He was their oldest son and would inherit his father's title.
- Martha (born 1595)
- Elizabeth (born 1596)
- John (born 1598)
- Catherine (born 1599)
- Ann (born 1601)
- Thomas (born 1604)
- Margaret (born 1606)
- Miles (born 1608)
- Millicent (born 1611)
Through his son John, Sir Thomas had a grandson named Colonel Thomas Temple. This grandson later became a governor of the English colony of Nova Scotia in North America.
His daughter Martha was described as a "dainte fine lady." She passed away from smallpox in January 1620. She was buried in the Temple family church at Stowe. Her father, Sir Thomas, built a grand marble monument for her. You can still see it in Stowe church today.
Achievements and Roles
In 1589, Sir Thomas was chosen to be a Member of Parliament (MP) for Andover, Hampshire. This was because his father-in-law had influence there. He was the first person in his family to serve in Parliament.
In 1603, King James I made him a knight. In 1611, he bought a special title called a baronetcy. This meant he became "Sir Thomas Temple, 1st Baronet."
In 1604, Temple bought the Borough of Buckingham. This area was known as a "rotten borough." This meant it was a small town with very few voters, but it still had the right to send members to Parliament. Because of this, several generations of the Temple family served as MPs for this seat.
Sir Thomas also served as a High Sheriff in different counties:
- In 1606, he was the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire.
- In 1616, he was the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.
- In 1620, he was the High Sheriff of Warwickshire. A High Sheriff was a very important local official, responsible for keeping the peace and enforcing laws.
Financial Challenges
The Temple family's wealth came from the wool industry. However, this industry started to struggle in the early 1600s. Sir Thomas also had many expenses because of his large family. He had to pay a lot of money for his children's weddings, especially for the dowries of his nine daughters. A dowry was money or property given by the bride's family to the groom or his family.
In the 1620s, Sir Thomas planned to sell some land to pay off his debts. But his son, Peter, said the land could not be sold. Peter claimed the land was meant to be passed down to him. He took his father to court to stop the sale. Eventually, a neutral person helped them settle the case. Sir Thomas was allowed to sell the land, but he had to pay some money to his son, Peter.
Family Letters
In the early 1600s, the Temple family wrote and received many letters. These letters were both official and personal. Many of these letters are now kept at the Huntington Library in a collection called the Stowe papers. There are many letters sent to Sir Thomas and some letters he wrote to his family members. These letters help us learn a lot about their lives.
