Thomas Woodward Part 2

From RoyalWeb
Jump to: navigation, search
(Thomas Woodward and his brother Rowland, friends of the poet Donne)
(Thomas Woodward and his brother Rowland, friends of the poet Donne)
Line 85: Line 85:
 
This raises the intriguing possibility (if we assume several things) that our Thomas Woodward the immigrant to Virginia (if he was a son of that Christopher of "Lambeth Marsh, gent." and St.Mary-le-Bow, London) could have been a ''cousin'' to the brothers Rowland and Thomas Woodward who were the friends and intimates of the poet Donne. Of course, this is (again) only speculation, and due to the paucity of evidence, we will very likely never know the full truth, but these are interesting, compelling speculations all the same.   
 
This raises the intriguing possibility (if we assume several things) that our Thomas Woodward the immigrant to Virginia (if he was a son of that Christopher of "Lambeth Marsh, gent." and St.Mary-le-Bow, London) could have been a ''cousin'' to the brothers Rowland and Thomas Woodward who were the friends and intimates of the poet Donne. Of course, this is (again) only speculation, and due to the paucity of evidence, we will very likely never know the full truth, but these are interesting, compelling speculations all the same.   
  
A “Rowland Woodward” (as mentioned by J. Gary Woodward in his website) was married by 1594, and was the father of a son named “Christopher Woodward”, who was baptized on 1 May 1594, in Orwell Parish, Cambridge (32). I have no way of knowing, at present, just how many “Rowland Woodwards” there were, running around England at that time, so of course I cannot say whether or not these two Rowlands were the same person. I will confess that the evidence looks intriguing, if not compelling. This Christopher Woodward (the son of Rowland) could have easily been the same Christopher Woodward who ended up at the 1624 muster in Jamestown, Virginia. It is fascinating to speculate that he could in fact have been a close cousin of the Thomas Woodward who also emigrated to Virginia.
+
A “Rowland Woodward” (as mentioned by J. Gary Woodward in his website) was married by 1594, and was the father of a son named “Christopher Woodward”, who was baptized on 1 May 1594, in Orwell Parish, Cambridge (32). This Christopher Woodward (the son of Rowland) could have easily been the same Christopher Woodward who ended up at the 1624 muster in Jamestown, Virginia. It is fascinating to speculate that he could in fact have been a close cousin of the Thomas Woodward who also emigrated to Virginia.
  
And yet (strangely), the Rowland Woodward who married and was the father of the Christopher who was born in 1594 apparently married in 1574: according to the L.D.S. Church's ''International Gnealogical Index'' (I.G.I.), this particular Rowland Woodward's wife was a Dennys (Denise?) Willmott, and he wed her in Orwell, Cambridge on either 1 October or 31 October, 1574--precisely the same place where Christopher would later be christened in 1594. If all of this data is correct, then clearly we are dealing with two separate Rowland Woodwards here. A probable "birthdate" of 1549 has been supplied (by some unknown person) for this second Rowland Woodward (the father of Christopher).
+
And yet (strangely), the Rowland Woodward who married and was the father of the Christopher who was born in 1594 apparently married in 1574: according to the L.D.S. Church's  
 +
''International Genealogical Index'' (I.G.I.), this particular Rowland Woodward's wife was a Dennys (Denise?) Willmott, and he wed her in Orwell, Cambridge on either 1 October or 31 October, 1574--precisely the same place where Christopher would later be christened in 1594. If all of this data is correct, then clearly we are dealing with two separate Rowland Woodwards here. A probable "birthdate" of 1549 has been supplied (by some unknown person) for this second Rowland Woodward (the father of Christopher).
  
 
And if all the above weren't confusing enough, we have yet a third "Rowland Woodward," who was christened on 11 November, 1576, in the parish of St.Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, London. This Rowland's father was recorded as "Willm" Woodward [sic].
 
And if all the above weren't confusing enough, we have yet a third "Rowland Woodward," who was christened on 11 November, 1576, in the parish of St.Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, London. This Rowland's father was recorded as "Willm" Woodward [sic].
Line 93: Line 94:
 
Either one of the above Rowland Woodwards, or perhaps yet a fourth man by this name, is also listed in the I.G.I. as having married an "Ellinor Grimsditch" in London on 5 January, 1626.
 
Either one of the above Rowland Woodwards, or perhaps yet a fourth man by this name, is also listed in the I.G.I. as having married an "Ellinor Grimsditch" in London on 5 January, 1626.
  
The Thomas Woodward who was the friend and intimate of the poet John Donne also seems to have been at one time the unwilling object of the poet's occasional homosexual interest: four verse letters exist (written when Donne was eighteen and Woodward sixteen), addressed to "T.W.", and expressing (as George Klawitter has shown) "first, the poet's infatuation for his friend, and then, his severe disappointment when the youth fails to respond with a like ardor." These poems, says Klawitter, "including Woodward's response, are full of sexual puns and a highly charged homoeroticism." (33) Anyone with more than a passing familiarity with Elizabethan literature and biography should not be unduly surprised by this disclosure. Even the great Shakespeare himself addressed the first one hundred and twenty-six of his famous ''Sonnets'' to a handsome young man, sometimes in arguably homoerotic tones. There were of course still others, such as Marlowe and Barnfield, who were far more explicit than this, and left no doubt at all about their proclivities and interests.
+
So much for attempting research on people living in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century England, right? The deeper one digs, the greater the unresolvable puzzles one apparently turns up.
 +
 
 +
The Thomas Woodward who was the friend and intimate of the poet John Donne also seems to have been at one time the unwilling object of the poet's occasional homosexual interest: four verse letters exist (written when Donne was eighteen and Woodward sixteen), addressed to "T.W.", and expressing (as George Klawitter has shown) "first, the poet's infatuation for his friend, and then, his severe disappointment when the youth fails to respond with a like ardor." These poems, says Klawitter, "including Woodward's response, are full of sexual puns and a highly charged homoeroticism." (33) Anyone with more than a passing familiarity with Elizabethan literature and biography should not be unduly surprised by this disclosure. Even the great Shakespeare himself addressed the first one hundred and twenty-six of his famous ''Sonnets'' to a handsome young man, usually in tender, sometimes arguably in homoerotic, tones. There were of course still others, such as Marlowe and Barnfield, who were far more explicit than this, and left no doubt at all about their proclivities and interests.
  
 
Finally, the Edward Woodward mentioned above as the son of the Thomas Woodward of Lambeth Marsh, Surrey, appears to have been the same man who married in London in February, 1662-3: “Edward Woodward, of Lambeth Marsh, Surrey, Esq., … and Elizabeth Turner of St. Andrew’s, Holborn, widow, [were married at] St. Gregory’s or St. Bartholomew the Less, London.” (34) We will note here that this Edward Woodward appears to have been named for his great-great-grandfather of the same name.
 
Finally, the Edward Woodward mentioned above as the son of the Thomas Woodward of Lambeth Marsh, Surrey, appears to have been the same man who married in London in February, 1662-3: “Edward Woodward, of Lambeth Marsh, Surrey, Esq., … and Elizabeth Turner of St. Andrew’s, Holborn, widow, [were married at] St. Gregory’s or St. Bartholomew the Less, London.” (34) We will note here that this Edward Woodward appears to have been named for his great-great-grandfather of the same name.

Revision as of 19:26, 29 May 2008

Personal tools
MOOCOW
Google AdSense