Thomas Welde facts for kids

Thomas Welde (born 1595 – died 1661) was an English church leader who became a Puritan. He moved to New England in America, worked as a missionary, wrote books, and debated important ideas. His time in the New World was short, lasting only nine years, but he made a big impact there. When he went back to England, he continued his work as a priest and had disagreements with the Quakers. His son, Edmund, also returned to Europe and became a chaplain for Oliver Cromwell.

Biography of Thomas Welde

Thomas Welde was born in 1595 in Sudbury, England. He was the son of Edmund and Amy Welde. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge and finished his degrees in 1613. He became a priest in 1618. During his studies, he became good friends with other students who shared his ideas, including Oliver Cromwell.

In 1624, he worked as a minister in Terling, England. He joined the Puritans, a group of people who wanted to make changes to the Church of England. In 1632, he sailed to America on a ship called the "William and Francis" and arrived in Boston. His first job in America was as the main minister of The First Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, from 1632 to 1641.

Welde's Life in New England

After moving to New England, Thomas Welde became involved in the local government and important discussions about religious beliefs. He helped write the Bay Psalm Book, which was the first book printed in British North America. He also became a leader at the new Harvard College. He was part of important meetings where people discussed different religious ideas, including those of Anne Hutchinson.

Return to England

In 1641, Thomas Welde left some of his family in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and went back to England with his brother, John. They went to England to help the Massachusetts colony with some important business. One of their goals was to get more land for the colony, including the area that is now Rhode Island. This area had been settled by Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, which the Puritan leaders in Massachusetts did not like. Welde tried to get a special document to support Massachusetts' claim to this land, but he was not successful.

After this, he took on a new role as a priest in Gateshead, England. Thomas Welde never returned to the American colony. His son, Edmund, settled in Ireland and became a chaplain for Oliver Cromwell until Cromwell's death. Thomas Welde is believed to have died in 1661.

American Descendants of Thomas Welde

Thomas Welde's son, who stayed in Massachusetts, became the ancestor of important figures in American history. These include Theodore Dwight Weld and Ezra Greenleaf Weld, who were key leaders in the 19th-century movement to end slavery, known as abolitionism.

Thomas Welde's younger brother also stayed in the New World. He was the ancestor of a very well-known branch of the Weld Family in America. This family includes William Weld, who was a former Governor of Massachusetts, and the actress Tuesday Weld. Two buildings at Harvard University, Weld Hall and Weld Boathouse, are named after his descendants.