Editing Ralph Cudworth (section)

==Family background==
===Ancestry===
Cudworth's family reputedly originated in [[Cudworth, South Yorkshire|Cudworth]] (near [[Barnsley]]), [[Yorkshire]], moving to [[Lancashire]] with the marriage ({{circa}}1377) of John de Cudworth (died 1384) and Margery (died 1384), daughter of Richard de Oldham (living 1354), [[lord of the manor]] of [[Werneth, Greater Manchester|Werneth]], [[Oldham]]. The Cudworths of [[Werneth Hall]], [[Oldham]], were lords of the manor of Werneth/Oldham, until 1683. Ralph Cudworth (the philosopher)'s father, [[Ralph Cudworth (died 1624)|Ralph Cudworth (Snr)]], was the posthumous-born second son of Ralph Cudworth (d.1572) of [[Werneth, Greater Manchester|Werneth Hall]], [[Oldham]].<ref>[[Edwin Butterworth]], ''Historical Sketches of Oldham'' (John Hirst: Oldham, 1856), [https://books.google.com/books?id=DfUVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA22 pp. 22–23] (Google)</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Butterworth|first=James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DfUVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA22|title=History and Description of the Parochial Chapelry of Oldham|publisher=J. Dodge, etc|year=1826|location=Oldham|pages=52ff ('Pedigree of the Families of Oldhams and Cudworths')}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Fuller|first=Thomas|url=https://archive.org/details/worthiesengland02fulluoft/page/n225/mode/2up?view=theater|title=History of the Worthies of England|publisher=Thomas Tegg|year=1811|editor-last=Nuttall|editor-first=T.A.|volume=ii|location=London|pages=208}}</ref><ref name="british-history.ac.uk">{{Cite web|title=The parish of Prestwich with Oldham: Oldham {{!}} British History Online|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp92-108|access-date=2021-06-25|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref><ref name="Stansfield-Cudworth 2019 48–80">{{Cite journal|last=Stansfield-Cudworth|first=R. E.|date=2019|title=Gentry, Gentility, and Genealogy in Lancashire: The Cudworths of Werneth Hall, Oldham, c.1377–1683|journal=Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society|volume=111|pages=48–80}}</ref>

===The Rev. Dr Ralph Cudworth Snr (1572/73–1624)===
{{main|Ralph Cudworth (died 1624)}}
The philosopher's father, [[Reverend|The Rev.]] [[Doctor of Divinity|Dr]] [[Ralph Cudworth (died 1624)|Ralph Cudworth]] (1572/73–1624), was educated at [[Emmanuel College, Cambridge]], where he graduated BA (1592/93, MA (1596). Emmanuel College (founded by Sir [[Walter Mildmay]] (1584), and under the direction of its first Master, [[Laurence Chaderton]]) was, from its inception, a stronghold of Reformist, Puritan and Calvinist teaching, which shaped the development of puritan ministry, and contributed largely to the emigrant ministry in America.<ref>'History of the College' [https://www.emma.cam.ac.uk/about/history/college/ Emmanuel College website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726201627/https://www.emma.cam.ac.uk/about/history/college/ |date=26 July 2021 }}; S. Bendell, C. Brooke, and P. Collinson, ''A History of Emmanuel College'' (Boydell Press: Woodbridge 1999).</ref>

Ordained in 1599<ref>{{CCEd |type=ordination |id=123517 |name=Cudworthe, Rodulphus |accessed=28 October 2024 }}</ref><ref name="CCEdp">{{CCEd |type=person |id=89100 |name=Cudworth, Ralph |year1=1606 |year2=1608 |accessed=28 October 2024 }}</ref> and elected to a college fellowship by 1600,<ref>S. Bush Jnr and C.J. Rasmussen, ''The Library of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 1584–1637'' (Cambridge University Press, 2005), [https://books.google.com/books?id=riRkkmBry6oC&pg=PA77 pp. 77–79] and p. 210 (Google).</ref> Cudworth Snr was much influenced by [[William Perkins (theologian)|William Perkins]], whom he succeeded, in 1602, as Lecturer of the Parish Church of [[St Andrew the Great]], Cambridge.<ref>B. Carter, 'The standing of Ralph Cudworth as a Philosopher' in G.A.J. Rogers, T. Sorell, and J. Kraye (eds), ''Insiders and Outsiders in Seventeenth Century Philosophy'' (Routledge: London, 2009), [https://books.google.com/books?id=bD2OAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA100 at p. 100 (see note 4)].</ref> He was awarded the degree of [[Bachelor of Divinity]] in 1603.<ref>Venn, ''[[Alumni Cantabrigienses]]'' i(1), p. 431.</ref> He edited Perkins's ''Commentary'' on [[Paul the Apostle|St Paul]]'s [[Epistle to the Galatians]] (1604),<ref>H.C. Porter, ''Reformation and Reaction in Tudor Cambridge'' (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1958), [https://books.google.com/books?id=j7Q6AAAAIAAJ&dq=Cudworth%2C+%22William+Crashaw%22&pg=PA264 pp. 264–66] (Google)</ref> with a dedication to [[Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick|Robert, 3rd Lord Rich (later 1st Earl of Warwick)]], adding a commentary of his own with dedication to Sir [[Bassingbourne Gawdy (died 1606)|Bassingbourn Gawdy]].<ref>''A Commentarie or Exposition, upon the Five First Chapters of the Epistle to the Galatians: penned by the godly, learned, and iudiciall divine, Mr. W. Perkins. Now published for the benefit of the Church, and continued with a supplement upon the sixt chapter, by Rafe Cudworth Bachelour of Divinitie'' (John Legat: London, 1604).</ref> Lord Rich presented him to the Vicariate of [[Coggeshall]], [[Essex]] (1606)<ref>{{CCEd |type=appointment |id=193664 |name=Cudworth, Rodolphus |location=Coggshall |accessed=28 October 2024 }}</ref> to replace the deprived minister [[John Stoughton (priest)#Origin and religious background|Thomas Stoughton]], but he resigned this position (March 1608), and was licensed to preach from the pulpit by the [[Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury|Chancellor]] and Scholars of the [[University of Cambridge]] (November 1609).<ref>Church of England clergy database, CCEd Records ID: 193711 (Vacancy) [https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/DisplayVacancy.jsp?CDBAppRedID=193711]</ref><ref>{{CCEd |type=appointment |id=178652 |name=Cudworthe, Rodulphus |location=Preacher |accessed=28 October 2024 }}</ref> He then applied for the rectorate of [[Aller, Somerset]] (an Emmanuel College living)<ref>R.W. Dunning (ed.), 'Parishes: Aller ', ''A History of the County of Somerset'', iii (1974), [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66488 pp. 61–71] (British History Online).</ref> and, resigning his fellowship, was appointed to it in 1610.<ref>CCEd Appointment Evidence Record ID: 178651, as 30 August 1610.</ref>

His marriage (1611) to Mary Machell (''c''.1582–1634), (who had been "nutrix" – nurse, or preceptor – to [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales]])<ref>[[Johann Lorenz von Mosheim|J.L. v. Mosheim]], ''Radulphi Cudworthi Systema intellectuale hujus universi'' (sumtu viduae Meyer: Jena, 1733), i, 'Praefatio Moshemii' (34 sides, unpaginated), [https://books.google.com/books?id=LO9OAAAAcAAJ side 19]. The information was from [[Edward Chandler (bishop)|Edward Chandler]].</ref> brought important connections. Cudworth Snr was appointed as one of [[James VI and I|James I]]'s chaplains.<ref>Mosheim, as cited above.</ref> Mary's mother (or aunt) was the sister of Sir [[Edward Lewknor (died 1605)|Edward Lewknor]], a central figure (with the [[Robert Jermyn (1539–1614)|Jermyn]] and Heigham families) among the puritan [[East Anglia]]n gentry, whose children had attended Emmanuel College.<ref>P. Collinson, '17: Magistracy and Ministry – A Suffolk Miniature', in ''Godly People. Essays on English Protestantism and Puritanism'' (Hambledon Press: London, 1983), pp. 445–66.</ref> Mary's Lewknor and Machell connections with the Rich family included her first cousins Sir [[Nathaniel Rich (merchant adventurer)|Nathaniel Rich]] and his sister Dame Margaret Wroth, wife of Sir [[Thomas Wroth (died 1672)|Thomas Wroth]] of [[Petherton Park]] near [[Bridgwater]], Somerset, influential promoters of colonial enterprise (and later of nonconformist emigration) in [[New England]]. Aller was immediately within their sphere.

Ralph Snr and Mary settled at Aller, where their children (listed below) were christened during the following decade.<ref>D. Richardson, ''Magna Carta Ancestry'', ed. K.J. Everingham, 2nd Edn (2011), ii, p. 10, items 15–16)</ref> Cudworth continued to study, working on a complete survey of [[Casuistry|Case-Divinity]], ''The Cases of Conscience in Family, Church and Commonwealth'' while suffering from the [[Fever|agueish]] climate at Aller.<ref>Letter of Ralph Cudworth (Snr) to James Ussher, [[Bodleian Library]], Oxford, MS Rawlinson Letters 89, fol. 25 r–v: [http://emlo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/profile/work/9a862849-3c6c-4561-8236-8855aebd4e0d ''Early modern letters online''].</ref> He was awarded the degree of [[Doctor of Divinity]] (1619),<ref name="Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses">Venn, ''Alumni Cantabrigienses''.</ref> and was among the dedicatees of [[Richard Bernard]]'s 1621 edition of ''The Faithfull Shepherd''.<ref>R. Bernard, ''The Faithfull Shepherd, wholy in a manner transposed'', 3rd Edn, Thomas Pavier: London, 1621), [https://archive.org/details/faithfulshe00bern/page/n13 dedication in front matter] (Internet Archive). ([https://books.google.com/books?id=CBBBAQAAMAAJ 1st Edition, 1607], 2nd 1609).</ref> Ralph Snr died at Aller declaring a [[nuncupative will]] (7 August 1624) before [[Anthony Earbury]] and Dame Margaret Wroth.<ref>Will of Raphe Cudworthe, Doctor of Divinity, Parson of Aller, Somerset (P.C.C. 1624, Byrde quire).</ref>

==== Children ====
[[File:St Andrews Church, Aller (geograph 5188498).jpg|thumb|right|[[Church of St Andrew, Aller|Parish Church of St Andrew]], [[Aller, Somerset|Aller]], [[Somerset]]: where [[John Stoughton (priest)|John Stoughton]] succeeded [[Ralph Cudworth (died 1624)|Ralph Cudworth]] Snr (1624)]]'''The children of Ralph Cudworth Snr and Mary (née Machell) Cudworth (''c''.1582–1634) were:'''

*[[General]] [[James Cudworth (colonist)|James Cudworth]] (1612–82) was Assistant Governor (1756–1758, 1674–1680) and Deputy Governor (1681–82) of [[Plymouth Colony]], [[Massachusetts]], and four-times Commissioner of the United Colonies (1657–1681),<ref>Samuel Deane, 'Gen. James Cudworth' in ''History of Scituate, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1831'' (James Loring: Boston, 1831), pp. 245–51; also ''[http://www.scituatehistoricalsociety.org/families/CudworthJames.htm Scituate Historical Society] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524190252/http://www.scituatehistoricalsociety.org/families/CudworthJames.htm |date=24 May 2008 }}''</ref> whose descendants form an extensive family of American Cudworths.
* Elizabeth Cudworth (1615–1654) married (1636) Josias Beacham of [[Broughton, Northamptonshire]] (Rector of [[Seaton, Rutland]] (1627–1676)), by whom she had several children. Beacham was ejected from his living by the Puritans (1653), but reinstated (by 1662).<ref>Josias Beacham’s first wife was Maria Sheffield (died 1634): S.H.C., 'Extracts from the Parish register of Seton, Co. Rutland, relative to the family of Sheffield', ''Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica'' I (J.B. Nichols & Son: London, 1834), [https://books.google.com/books?id=HCcAAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA171 pp. 171–73.]; Will of Josias Beacham, Rector of Seaton (Rutland) (P.C.C. 1675/76). ''London Marriage Allegations'', 28 April 1636 (St Mary Aldermanbury). Foster, ''Index Ecclesiasticus''. Beacham was a graduate of [[Brasenose College|Brasenose College, Oxford]]</ref>
* '''Ralph Cudworth (Jnr)'''
* Mary Cudworth
* John Cudworth (1622–1675) of [[London]] and [[Bentley, Suffolk]], Alderman of London, and Master of the [[Worshipful Company of Girdlers]] (1667–68).<ref>W. Dumville Smythe, ''An Historical Account of the Worshipful Company of Girdlers, London'' (Chiswick Press: London, 1905), [https://archive.org/stream/historicalaccoun00smyt#page/108/mode/2up pp. 109–10.]; Will of John Cudworth, Girdler of London (P.C.C. 1675).</ref> On his death, John left four orphans of whom both Thomas Cudworth (1661–1726)<ref>J. Peile, ''Biographical Register of Christ's College, 1505–1905: II: 1666–1905'' (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1913), [https://archive.org/details/biographicalregi02peil/page/64 p. 64] (Internet Archive).</ref> and Benjamin Cudworth (1670–15 Sept. 1725) attended Christ's College, Cambridge.<ref>J. Peile, ''Biographical Register'', ii, [https://archive.org/details/biographicalregi02peil/page/110 p. 111].</ref> Benjamin Cudworth's black memorial slab is in St. Margaret's parish church, Southolt, Suffolk.
* Jane/Joan(?) Cudworth (born ''c''.1624; [[floruit|fl.]] unmarried, 1647) may have been Ralph's sister.<ref>D. Richardson, ''Jewels of the Crown'', 4 (2009), citing references to Jane Cudworth in the Will of John Machell of Wonersh (P.C.C. 1647).</ref>