William Aspinwall (minister)
Encyclopedia
William Aspinwall was a nonconformist English
minister.
Aspinwalls, and so has a gleam on his name in relation to Spenser's 'Rosalind'. He was of Magdalen College, Cambridge, and had for tutor Joseph Hill. He proceeded B.A., but having obtained orders, went no further. His first living was Maghull
, in Lancashire. In the Lancashire 'Harmonious Consent' of 1648, which denounces 'endeavours used for the establishing a universal toleration,' his name appears ('William Aspinwal, preacher of God's word at Mayhall') in a long list of signatories, headed by 'Richard Heyricke, warden of Christ Colledg in Manchester,' and including Hollingworth, Alexander Horrocks, John Angier, and indeed the foremost ministers of the county and time. These men had come to persuade themselves that 'the establishing of a toleration would make us [the English people] become the abhorring and loathing of all nations.'
Aspinwall left his cure
in 1655-6 to be ordained at Mattersey
, Nottinghamshire
, and was in that year inducted to Mattersey, in the church at Claworth, in the same county, along with a more notable man, John Cromwell, B.A., and two others. He was ejected by the Act of Uniformity in 1662. Upon his ejection he turned farmer at Thurnsco, in Yorkshire
. There was 'a good house,' and it became a nonconformist meeting-place. Two other ejected ministers, Tricket and Grant, sojourned with him. Whether farming did not prosper, or the usual persecution drove him away, is uncertain, but in a short time he is traced once more in his native Lancashire. There Calamy states he died; but Samuel Palmer
(Nonconformist's Memorial iii. 99) corrects this, and gives extracts from a letter dated Cockermouth, 16 April 1724, by which it would seem that he became minister of a 'dissenting congregation' in that town. The old presbyterian congregation there was afterwards merged in the 'congregational,' but in Lewis's 'History of the Congregational Church, Cockermouth, being Selections from its own Records' (1870), Aspinwall's name nowhere occurs: nor have recent inquiries succeeded in finding the slightest memorial of him in Cockermouth, although the existence of the presbyterian church there has been thoroughly verified. Unluckily the date of his death is not given.
Palmer is strangely inaccurate in the following addition to Calamy: 'There is a small folio volume of sermons on the whole Epistle of Paul to Philemon, with the name of William Aspinwall prefixed, which the editor supposes to be by the same person. It is a valuable work' (Nonconf. Mem. iii. 100). 'Valuable' certainly; but it does not consist of 'sermons,' and the author was not Aspinwall, but William Attersoll
. Our William Aspinwall (as also Peter Aspinwall, of Heaton, Lancashire) is sometimes confounded with William Aspinwall, the ejected minister of Formby, who afterwards conformed, as well as with a contemporary quaker divine (of the same names) who had been persecuted in New England, and wrote vehemently of his wrongs and tenets.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
minister.
Biography
Aspinwall was one of the nonconforming ministers ejected in 1662, was of the LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
Aspinwalls, and so has a gleam on his name in relation to Spenser's 'Rosalind'. He was of Magdalen College, Cambridge, and had for tutor Joseph Hill. He proceeded B.A., but having obtained orders, went no further. His first living was Maghull
Maghull
Maghull is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. The town is located eight miles north of the City of Liverpool and south of Ormskirk in West Lancashire. The area of Moss Side also contains HM Prison Kennet and Ashworth Hospital. Maghull had a...
, in Lancashire. In the Lancashire 'Harmonious Consent' of 1648, which denounces 'endeavours used for the establishing a universal toleration,' his name appears ('William Aspinwal, preacher of God's word at Mayhall') in a long list of signatories, headed by 'Richard Heyricke, warden of Christ Colledg in Manchester,' and including Hollingworth, Alexander Horrocks, John Angier, and indeed the foremost ministers of the county and time. These men had come to persuade themselves that 'the establishing of a toleration would make us [the English people] become the abhorring and loathing of all nations.'
Aspinwall left his cure
Cure of souls
In some denominations of Christianity, the cure of souls , an archaic translation which is better rendered today as "care of souls," is the exercise by a priest of his office. This typically embraces instruction, by sermons and admonitions, and administration of sacraments, to the congregation...
in 1655-6 to be ordained at Mattersey
Mattersey
Mattersey is a village in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located 8 miles north of Retford and sits on the border of Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire, being just under 14 miles from Doncaster. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 779....
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, and was in that year inducted to Mattersey, in the church at Claworth, in the same county, along with a more notable man, John Cromwell, B.A., and two others. He was ejected by the Act of Uniformity in 1662. Upon his ejection he turned farmer at Thurnsco, in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. There was 'a good house,' and it became a nonconformist meeting-place. Two other ejected ministers, Tricket and Grant, sojourned with him. Whether farming did not prosper, or the usual persecution drove him away, is uncertain, but in a short time he is traced once more in his native Lancashire. There Calamy states he died; but Samuel Palmer
Samuel Palmer (biographer)
-Life:He was born at Bedford, was educated at Bedford grammar school, and then studied for the ministry at Daventry Academy under Caleb Ashworth....
(Nonconformist's Memorial iii. 99) corrects this, and gives extracts from a letter dated Cockermouth, 16 April 1724, by which it would seem that he became minister of a 'dissenting congregation' in that town. The old presbyterian congregation there was afterwards merged in the 'congregational,' but in Lewis's 'History of the Congregational Church, Cockermouth, being Selections from its own Records' (1870), Aspinwall's name nowhere occurs: nor have recent inquiries succeeded in finding the slightest memorial of him in Cockermouth, although the existence of the presbyterian church there has been thoroughly verified. Unluckily the date of his death is not given.
Works
The following books were published by him:- A Discourse o the Principal Points touching Baptism, so far as Scripture Light directs.
- The Legislative Power Christ's Peculiar Prerogative.
- A Presage of sundry Sad Calamities yet to come.
- The Abrogation of the Jewish Sabbath or the Sabbath of the 7th Day of the Week.
Palmer is strangely inaccurate in the following addition to Calamy: 'There is a small folio volume of sermons on the whole Epistle of Paul to Philemon, with the name of William Aspinwall prefixed, which the editor supposes to be by the same person. It is a valuable work' (Nonconf. Mem. iii. 100). 'Valuable' certainly; but it does not consist of 'sermons,' and the author was not Aspinwall, but William Attersoll
William Attersoll
William Attersoll , was a puritan divine and author.Attersoll was apparently for a time a member of Jesus College, Cambridge, when, as he writes in his 'Historie of Balak' , his patron of later years, Sir Henry Fanshaw, was 'a chiefe and choise ornament' there. But in that case he must have early...
. Our William Aspinwall (as also Peter Aspinwall, of Heaton, Lancashire) is sometimes confounded with William Aspinwall, the ejected minister of Formby, who afterwards conformed, as well as with a contemporary quaker divine (of the same names) who had been persecuted in New England, and wrote vehemently of his wrongs and tenets.