Thomas WHATELY ²

  Notes:

Thomas was born in Henley-in-Arden in Warwickshire but settled in Banbury in Oxfordshire, as did his brother Richard - they were both Puritans. Thomas was a mercer and landowner, and first mentioned in the Banbury Corporation records in 1586. He was twice Bailiff of the Borough, in 1592 and 1599, and Mayor in 1611 and 1623. He was also a JP. He purchased a farm at Hempton to the south of Banbury, a centre of Puritan activity that was passed down through the next four generations of the Whately family.

Thomas married Joyce Knight (qv) who was from an established Banbury family. They had three children who survived to adulthood - two sons and a daughter. The eldest son was William (qv), Vicar of Banbury. Their only daughter Joan married Robert Harris, who although from a poor background became a well-known Puritan theologian, and was President of Trinity College Oxford and a member of the Assembly of Divines during the Civil War. Thomas' younger son John was a mercer in Banbury, and had children with his first wife Elizabeth Cresswell. Thomas remarried after his first wife died in 1612.

PCC: Thomas Whatly PROB11/176 dated 23-4-1638

Additional sources:
DNB (1901, 2004) - William Whately (son)
DNB (1901) - Robert Harris (son-in-law)
Erik Chitty (1969) The Whateley and Wheatly family of Banbury. Cake and Cockhorse Vol 4 No 3.
Gibson and Brinkworth (1977). Banbury Corporation Records: Tudor and Stuart. Banbury Historical Society Vol 15.

Thomas married Joyce KNIGHT, daughter of John KNIGHT and Joan, on 2 Jul 1582 in St Mary, Banbury, Oxfordshire.¹ (Joyce KNIGHT was christened on 20 Mar 1564 in St Mary, Banbury, Oxfordshire ¹ and was buried on 3 Dec 1612 in St Mary, Banbury, Oxfordshire ¹.)

Thomas next married Joyce. (Joyce was buried on 29 Oct 1646 in St Mary, Banbury, Oxfordshire ¹.)