"DA 
 
 Burrow 
 
 A few anecdotes -aid observations 
 relating to Oliver Cromwell
 
 [HE IBRARY 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 'A 'N 'asnjojAs ^^^ 
 U3QNI9 X31KdWVd
 
 A F E W 
 
 ANECDOTES 
 
 AND 
 
 OBSERVATIONS 
 
 RELATING TO 
 
 OLIVER CROMWELL 
 
 AND HIS 
 
 FAMILY; 
 
 Serving to rectify feveral Errors concerning Him, publiflied by 
 
 NICOLAUS COMNENUS PAPADOPOLI, 
 
 In his 
 
 HISTORIA GYMNASII PATAVINI. 
 
 By a MEMBER of the ROYAL SOCIETY, and of the 
 SOCIETY of AN TIQJJ ARIES, of LONDON, 
 
 L N D O N: 
 
 Printed for J. WORRAL L, at the Dove in BelI-Yard 5 near 
 
 Lincolns-Inn. 
 
 M,DCC,LXIIL
 
 [ 3 ] DA 
 
 A F E W 
 
 ANECDOTES 
 
 AND 
 
 RELATING TO 
 
 LIVER CROMWELL 
 
 AND HIS 
 
 FAMILY. 
 
 NICOLAUS COMNENUS PAPADOPOLI, in 
 his Hiftoria Gymnafii Patavini (Venetiis 1 726,) 
 Tom. 2. Lib. 2. cap. 50. pa. 306, 307. fe<5t. 241. 
 fub anno 1658, aiferts " That Oliver Cromwell 
 <c (the Protestor) was a Member of that Univer- 
 <c fity in the Year 1618:" And He refers to a Lift 
 of the Englifh Students of that Univerfity, and to 
 Oliver's Coat of Arms painted in the Piazzas of it, 
 
 A 2 for
 
 [ 4 ] 
 
 for Proof of what He has faid. The fame Writer 
 very foon after fpeaks of Him, as having in the 
 younger Part of his Life lefTened his fmall Patri- 
 mony, hy a diffolutc Life and by the Length of the 
 Time that He continued abroad upon his Travels j 
 Part of which Time, two Years at leafi (He fays) 
 He fpent in improving himfelf" at Padua : And He 
 fixes his Return into England, to that Year wherein 
 King James the Firft died, and King Charles the 
 Firft fucceeded to the Crown j (which was the Year 
 
 1625.) 
 
 Papadopoli's own Words are thefe tf 1658. 
 
 c CCXLI. Oliverius Cromuel Britannia? fub nomine 
 
 tc tituloque Patroni Tyrannus, liaud fcio Dedecorine 
 
 " an Glorice futurus Gymnafio noftro, cujus Ilium 
 
 " Alumnum inficias ire non poffumus, cum et An- 
 
 * A pud via- " glorum Catalogus, qui extat ctiamnum *, Ilium 
 
 tortrn na- i jf u j s annumerct Confiliariis an. MDCXVIIL idip- 
 
 tior.is An- , r / u 1 /!' ' 'A 
 
 1; iii. x . lumque Injigma ambulacns gymnaiticjs appicta 
 
 " teflentur. Natus eft in Wallia^ obfcuro loco, nee 
 
 lc ditibus clarifve Parentibus aut illullri familia -, 
 
 tc quamvis non defint qui Pronepotem Ilium exifti- 
 
 " mant Thorns Cantabrigienfis Patricii, qui princeps 
 
 " inter Miniftros a cubiculo, praecipuus inter Con- 
 
 :t iiliarios, prasfeclufque fecretis, Henrico VIII reg- 
 
 c nante, inceftarum nuptiarum Aufpex, tandem fce- 
 
 fc lerum pcenas dedit, ac cervice gladio Carnificis 
 
 >( cassa probavit plerunque malis Coniiliis malos Auc- 
 
 ' torum Exitus refpondere. Ut ut fit, OLIVERIUS 
 3 " natalem
 
 [ 5 ] 
 
 " natalem inopiam Adolefcens auxit lafcrvia et luxu 
 " ac diuturnis Peregrinationibus^ quaruin Partem 
 " PATAVIO dedif., biennio fait em bonis hie artibus 
 " addiclus : Hinc in Britamiiam regreflus eo anno 
 " QUO, Jacobo mortuo, Carolus Rex fuffcctus eft." 
 He then proceeds " Ducla Cantabrigian Uxore, 
 cc Hue impellente, ad gerendam rempublicam fenfim 
 tc ac diffimulanter acceffit &c." Then He gives his 
 Character; concluding it with a Doubt whether He 
 acknowledged any Deity but his own Intereft ; and 
 yet allows that He had Virtues mixed with his Im- 
 piety and Vices, and wonderful Endowments of 
 Mind. After which, He runs over his public Ac- 
 tions and his Exerciie of Government, till his Death $ 
 which He fixes to have happened on the qth of 
 the Ides of September, 1658, at upwards cf Sixty 
 Years of Age. 
 
 I don't mean to enter into any minute Criticifms 
 upon this Gentleman's Account. Therefore I will 
 not pretend to difcufs " whether Oliver's ambitious 
 " Views were or were not promoted by the Infti- 
 " gation of his Wife -," only obferving in general, 
 " that there feerns to be * no fufficient Foundation 
 <c for fuch a Charge upon Her." Neither will I 
 dwell upon the Error in the Day of his Death, or 
 
 '* The Biographical Dictionary exprefsly afierts c< that She 
 *-" had no Influence over him." Vol. 3. pa. 547, 
 
 in
 
 in the Age of his Life: though It is certain that 
 He died on the third Day of September 1658, aged 
 Only a few Days more than 59 Tears and 4 Months ; 
 whereas this Author fays He died " fexagenario 
 " major, anno a csede Caroli primi decimo, menfe 
 <c feptimo, die quarto qui fait Iduum Septembris 
 " an. MDCLVIII." (which I underftand to mean 
 the tenth of September, the Ides of September being 
 the 13^) I mall prefently prove " that He was 
 " born upon the 25th of April 1599:" So that 
 He would have been but Sixty, if Pie had fur- 
 vived till the 25th of April 1659. I mall alfo 
 {hew " that He was born at Huntingdon-" and 
 not in Wales (as this Writer exprefsly aflerts.) 
 
 However, all thefe are but fmall Miftakes, which 
 a Foreigner might eafily fall into. 
 
 But his GRAND ERROR (and which He not only 
 afierts, but even imagines that He has fully proved,) 
 concerns no lefs than feven Years of this Great 
 Man's early life, and fo effential a Part of his Edu- 
 cation, as mufl have been greatly conducive to the 
 forming of his Mind ; and feems quite oppofite to 
 the real Fact. 
 
 So far was OLIVER CROMWELL, the Protector, 
 from having fpent feven Years of his Life (from 
 the Age of 19 to 26) in his 'Travels abroad, and 
 in ftudying at Padua, that there is not the leafl 
 
 Shadow
 
 [ 7 ] 
 
 Shadow of Reafon to fufpect that He was ever out 
 of thefe Kingdoms at all; much lefs for fo long 
 a Time, and in that Part of his Life; (which, on 
 the contrary, appears to have been chiefly fpent in 
 or near the very Parifh of his Nativity.) 
 
 OUR Hiftorians fay He was entered at Sidney 
 College in Cambridge * on the 23d of April 1616; 
 being then juft J 7 Years of Age. About two Years 
 after, in the Beginning of the Year 1618, He re- 
 turned Home to his Mother. Soon after this, (at 
 the Time when Papadopoli fuppofes Him to have 
 been fet. out upon his Travels,) He was fent up 
 to Lincoln's Inn : At which Time, Pie muft have 
 been upwards of Nineteen. Here He remained fome 
 Time : It does not appear how long. But it could 
 not be two Years : For He was turned of Nine- 
 teen, when He came thither ; and He was married 
 before He was Two and Twenty. On his Mar- 
 
 / 
 
 riage, He fettled at Huntingdon : And after his Un- 
 cle's Death, He removed no further than into the 
 lile of Ely, Thefe Fafts are -f- agreed by our Eng- 
 
 * Tli is is true: He was then admitted Fellow-Commoner, bv 
 the Appellation of " Oliverus Cromwell Huntingtonienfis, Tu- 
 " tore Magiftro Ricardo Howlit." But (having been entered a 
 Fellow-Commoner) his Name occurs no where eife but in the 
 Regiftry-Book. 
 
 t And ytt it does not appear (upon Search) " that He ever 
 4 was au mil ted of Lincoln's Inn:'' though his Son and Heir ap- 
 n.irtnt, Richard, was fo, on the 2~ch of May 1647; (and Mr. 
 John Thurlow was cnc of his Securities.) 
 
 life
 
 C 8 ] 
 
 li(h Writers : It is fufficient to fpecifie two of the 
 lateft, viz. the New General Biographical Dictionary 
 (Edit. 1761.) Vol. 3. pa. 516, 517, 518. Title, 
 ' Cromwell;" and Mr. Harris's Life of Oliver 
 Cromwell (pubiifhed in 1762) pa. 3. to 9. 
 
 I propofe to confirm the Improbability t I might 
 almoit have laid the Impoffi' ility of Oliver's long 
 Tiavds during thcfe particular feven Years, by a 
 Proof from the REGISTER of St. John's Parim in 
 Huntingdon^ including the fame fpecifie Years ; a 
 Copy of which Regifter (as far as it relates to the 
 Cromwells) I have obtained from Huntingdon, by 
 the favor of a worthy and curious Gentleman of 
 that Place, Mr. Edward Ferrar ; who (by the way) 
 obferves that they have no Traces, in that Neigh- 
 bourhood, of Oliver's having led a diifolute Life. 
 
 This Extract from the Regifler of St. John's 
 Parifh in Huntingdon, which Mr. Ferrar has been 
 ib obliging as to fend me, includes Six of the Fa- 
 mily, prior to the Protector Himfelf : But I will 
 begin with Him, at prefent. 
 
 25th April 1599. Oliverius, filius Roberti Cromwell 
 Gen. et Eliz. uxoris ejus, natus 25. April 
 1599. et bapt. 29. 
 
 2 2d February 1600. Margaret Cromwell, Daughter 
 of Robert and Elizabeth. 
 
 2d January
 
 C 9 ] 
 
 2d January 1602. Ann Cromwell, Daughter of Ro- 
 bert and Elizabeth. 
 
 I pth January 1605. Jane Cromwell, Daughter of 
 Robert and Elizabeth. 
 
 1 8th January 1608. Robert Cromwell, Son of Ro- 
 bert and Elizabeth. 
 
 4th April 1609. Robert Cromwell buried. 
 
 2d June 161 i. Joan Cromwell married to Mr. Wil- 
 liam Baker. 
 
 2oth June 1617. Margaret Cromwell married to Mr. 
 Valentine Walton. 
 
 Thefe that follow are (as I take it) the Protestor's 
 own Children. 
 
 8th October 1621. Robert Cromwell, Son of Oli- 
 ver, Efq; 
 
 6th February 1622. Oliver Cromwell, Son of Oli- 
 ver, Gent. 
 
 5th Auguft 1624. Bridget Cromwell, Daughter of 
 Oliver, Efq; 
 
 4th October 1626. Richard Cromwell, Son of Mr. 
 Oliver. 
 
 2Oth January 1627. Henry Cromwell, Son of Oli- 
 ver, Efq; 
 
 2d July 1629. Eliz. Cromwell, Daughter of Oli- 
 ver, Efq; 
 
 8th January 1631. James Cromwell, Son of Oliver. 
 
 B 9th Feb-
 
 9th February 1636. Mary Cromwell, Daughter of 
 Oliver, Gent, 
 
 Note ; The three firft of thefe eight were born 
 before the Death of King James the firft. 
 
 I flatter Myfelf, that It now {lands fufficiently. 
 proved " That Oliver Cromwell, the Proteflor, did 
 tc not refide in Italy, but in England, during the lad 
 " 7 Years of the Reign of King James the firft." 
 
 Papadopoll mud confeqnently be under a grofs 
 Miftake concerning the IDENTITY of the Perfon 3 
 at lead. However his Proofs do feem to mew " that 
 " fome Perfon of the fame Name was at Padua at 
 " that Time." 
 
 I was very defirous to difcover 'what Oliver Crom- 
 well This was ; and to that End, I made Inquiry- 
 after the Regider of Hincbinbrooke, where Old Sir 
 Oliver Cromwell, the elder Brother of the Protec- 
 tor's Father, lived : But I am informed " that there 
 It is ex- i s * n o Regifter there." 
 
 aparo- 
 lial. 
 
 This Old Sir Oliver fold his Eftate, in his own 
 Life-time, to the Anceftor of the now Earl of Sand- 
 wich : And I am told " that He left no Children". 
 In his old Age, He lived at Ramfey ; And Sir Philip 
 Warwick * vifited Him there, 
 
 There
 
 There was an C/iver Cromwell Efquire of I-Iun- 
 tingdon, who was a. married Man in 1586, and till 
 1594: For in the Regifter of St. John's Parifli 
 in Huntingdon it appears cc that He had three Chil- 
 " dren born there within that Space of 7'ime;" viz. 
 
 251)1 Auguft 1586. Henry Cromwell, Son of Oli- 
 ver Efq; 
 
 1 4th May 1589. John Cromwell, Son of Oliver and 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 1 5th May 1594. Catharine Cromwell. Daughter of 
 Oliver Efq; 
 
 It does not appear Wbo this Oliver Cromwell 
 Ef quire was. He might be Sir Oliver Himfelf (be- 
 fore He was made a Knight;) Who might have then 
 relided at * Huntingdon ; and Who might have had* Hinchin 
 feveral Children born, and even grown up, though brook e 
 None of them might live long enough to furvive \iiie of 
 Him. Sir Oliver was of a fufficient Age of Life to Hunting 
 be married, and have Children in thofe refpeclive d( 
 Years : For his younger Brother, Robert, (the Pro- 
 tector's Father) was married and had a Daughter in 
 1593. One of his Sons might have been named 
 Oliver ; and would probably have been of a proper 
 Age for fhidying at Padua and making the Tour of 
 Italy, between the Years 1618 and 1625. 
 
 B 2 Though
 
 Th 
 
 'hough it might, in bare Poffibility t have hap- 
 pened that Sir Oliver Himfelf did fo, yet it is vert 
 unlikely, both from hie, Age of Life, (which could 
 not then be lefs than fixty or thereabouts,) and from 
 his bein^r fettled at Hinchinbrooke Ions; before that 
 
 o o 
 
 Time ; where He gave King King James the Firft, 
 in ft after his Acceffion to the Throne of England, 
 the "Tandefr. Entertainment that had been riven to 
 
 o o 
 
 a King by a Subject. In Reality, it can hardly be 
 thought that this Sir Oliver fhould be the Pcrfon 
 who did not return from his Travels till the Year 
 in which King James died and King Charles came 
 to the Crown. 
 
 What Other Oliver Cromwell might do fo, remains 
 quite in the Dark. 
 
 There appear only three other Cromwell?, in my 
 Extract from the beforementioned Rcgifter, Who 
 were born before the Protector ; (and they feem to 
 have been an elder Brother and two Sifters of the 
 Protector:) viz. 
 
 1 4th October 1593. Elizabeth Cromwell, Daughter 
 of Robert and Elizabeth. 
 
 1 3th Auguft 159$. Henry Cromwell, Son of Ro- 
 bert and Elizabeth. 
 
 7th February 1596. Catharine Cromwtl), Daughter 
 of Robert and Jiliz.'bcth, 
 
 I have
 
 [ '3 ] 
 
 I have alledged One Faft, very material to the 
 Point in queftion, namely, " That Oliver Cromwell, 
 : the Protestor, was married before the Age of 
 ;: twenty-two:" Which, it may be faid, I have not 
 formally and directly proved. But I have mewn 
 <( that He had a Son (* Robert) born upon the 
 " 8th of O&ober 162.1:" Which amounts to a fuf- 
 ficicnt confequcntial Proof " that the Father was a 
 " Married Man fome confiderable Time before the 
 " 25th of the preceding April". And " that He was 
 C( not two and twenty till the 25th of April 1621," 
 is moft clearly manifeft from the Huntingdon R.e- 
 gifter, which e.fcertaim his Birth to have been upon 
 the afth of April 1599. 
 
 N. B. This Register fettles tbc f Doubt amongft 
 our Hiftorians, <c Whether he was born upon the 
 c 1 24th or upon the jj 25th of that Month," 
 
 Inner Temple, 
 24th June 1763, 
 
 i:xr 13 roth LI- Oliver.
 
 P. S. I will add, for the Curiofity of fuch as at- 
 tend to Heraldry, a Note of the Enfigns Armorial 
 painted upon the Efcutcheons ufed at the Protestor's 
 Funeral: viz. Impaled Baron and Femme, Firft, 
 for Himfelf, Quarterly, i ft and 4th Argent, a Crofs 
 Gules (for England;) 2d Azure, a Saltire Argent 
 (for Scotland;) 3d Azure, a Harp Or, ftringed Ar- 
 gent (for Ireland;) In an Efcutcheon of Pretence, 
 Sable, a Lyon rampant Argent, (for his paternal 
 Coat;) And, Secondly, for his Wife, Sable, 3 Leo- 
 pards paffant, in Pale, Or, fpotted of the firft. * The 
 Crown over the Efcutcheon was compofed of CrofTes 
 Patonce and Leaves, (like that of the Prince of 
 Wales;) with an Arch joining crofTways over the 
 red Cap of Velvet, but not riling fo high as the 
 Regal Crown. 
 
 * Note : He would not aflume the Arms of France ; being in 
 ilrict Alliance with that Crown. 
 
 I N I
 
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