The Minor Family of Somerset

Name Suffix:<NSFX> IV
Name Prefix:<NPFX> Reverend
Barroll in Great Britain and America
"Rev. William Barroll IV, eldest son of William Barroll III an
d Abigail Jones his wife, was born at Hereford in 1734. He wa
s educated at Hereford school of which "Mr. Stevens was master.
" He matriculated at St. John's College, Cambridge, 3d October
, 1752, at which time the college records statehe was "past 17
" and received his degree of B.A. 1757. He took orders and th
e following abstacts are taken from the ordination books of th
e doicese ofLondon.
"Orders sacred and general celebrated and conferred by the Rig
h Reverend Father in God, Zachary, by Divine Permission, Lord Bi
shop of Rochester,at the requerst and in the stead of the Righ
t Reverend Father in God, Thomas,by Divine Permission, Lord Bis
hop of London, in the chapel within the palaceat Fulham, on Sun
Day, the eighteenth Day of December in the year of our Lord, on
e thousand seven hundred and fifty seven."
..."He was therefore 25 yearsof agen when ordained priest. Hi
s uncle, Rev. Hugh Jones, at that time over90 years of age, mus
t have watched with great interest the life of his nephew at th
e university of Cambridge and his subsequent preparation for th
e ministry: and have awaited with anxiety the Day when he shoul
d sail for Marylandto relieve him of the cares and responsiblli
ties of his parish. The young priest shortly after his ordinati
on sailed for American..."
"In 1777 during the War of the Revolution, the legislature of Ma
ryland passed a law requiringall persons holding any office o
f trust or profit to renounce their allegiance to the King of Gr
eat Britain and to be true and faithful to the state of Maryland
. The clergy of the Established Church, holding as they did the
ir livings under the state were public officers and came under t
he purview of thisact. Rev. William Barroll, like many eminen
t men of his Day, with the influence of his university trainin
g and education at Cambridge, and the powerfulties which in tha
t Day bound the Church to the crown, could not conscientiously t
ake such an oath. His refusal to sacrifice his convictions to e
xpediency necessarily lost him his benefice. He died the follow
ing year. He must have been a man of unusual character to hav
e retained the respect of his political opponents in those Days
, when men's passions were so excited that to have been suspecte
d of tory proclivites in the yes of American patriots was virtua
lly ostracism."
"In his will there are bequests to each of his six children, al
l of whom, therefore, were alive in March, 1778. His death mus
t haveoccurred between March 30 and May 5, 1778, for his will b
ore the former and was probated on the latter date. His will di
scloses the fact that at the timeof his death he owned at leas
t seven slaves, and that he maintained quite anestablishment
. He moreover, describes himself at that time as the "clerk (re
ctor) of St. Stephen's Parish" indicating that he did not recogn
ize the right of the legislature to deprve him of his office bec
ause of h is refusal toacknowledge its supremacy.
Maryland Gazette; Annapolis, July 24, 1760.
TheReverend Mr. William Barroll, was inducted into the living o
f St. Stephen'sParish in Cecil County, vacant by the resignatio
n of his venerable and reverend uncle, Mr. Hugh Jones" (Page 2 o
f No 794, Md. Gazette.)
In a foot-note tothe letter of Rev. Ethan Allen quoted from abo
ve, is the following brief account of the life of Rev. Willia
m Barroll, whose mother, and bot he, was of Welsh descent.
"William Barroll was a native of Wales, or Herefordshire, Englan
d. He was licensed by the Bishop of London, for Maryland, Marc
h 4, 1760, and immediately on his arrival in the province, succe
eded his uncle, tyhe Rev.Hugh Jones, in the incumbency of Nort
h Sassafras parish, Cecil County.
In the following year he married Ann Williamson, the