Editing John Pym (section)

==Personal details==
His father, [[Alexander Pym]] (1547–1585), was a member of the minor gentry, from Brymore, Somerset. He was a successful lawyer in London, where John was born in 1584. Alexander died seven months later and his mother, Philippa Colles (died 1620), married a wealthy Cornish landowner, Sir [[Anthony Rous (died 1620)|Anthony Rous]]. A close friend and [[executor]] of Sir [[Francis Drake]], Sir Anthony instilled in his stepson a strong dislike of [[Habsburg Spain|Spain]], a zealous belief in [[Puritanism]], and opposition to both the [[Catholic Church]], and the rival Protestant theology of [[Arminianism]].{{sfn|Russell|1990|p=221}}

The Rous were a large and close-knit family, often wedding relatives and friends. In May 1604, Pym married Anne Hooke, a daughter of Barbara Rous and John Hooke, and aunt of the scientist [[Robert Hooke]]. Before her death in 1620, they had seven children, of whom four survived into adulthood; Philippa (1604–1654), [[Sir Charles Pym, 1st Baronet|Charles]] (1615–1671), Dorothy (1617–1661), and Catherine.{{sfn|MacDonald |1969|p=43}}