Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-12-31
THE PRIMATEs
or All England and she Families
whence They Sprung.

Referring the other day TO DR.. Benson,
he would be the first English primate in cen.
furies who had not previously had a seat in
the House of Lords. But further ipvestiga-
ton shows that, albeit no such instance &C.
Cured from 1856 TO 1888, five are found be.
tween 1858 and 1891, namely; Cfanmer,
promoted to Canterbury from an srchdea-
conry; Pole, Parker, SancrofE and Tillotson,
from eeaneries. OF course the archbishops
always have seats in the House of Lords i'm
mediately after conservation. "The present
archbishop of York, :" says the late DIR. Hook,
snakes it his boast that his father was a
tradesman and shopkeeper in the North OF
Eogland, and one Of his immediate prede-
cessors was never ashamed of speaking
of his father as q man engaged 10 trade"
From the time of Henry VIII the primatss
have but in four cases been men of distin-
guished birth. Warham (1503) was the son
of Hampshire justice; Cranmer (l533) was
of similar rank; Pole (1556), cardinal, was
of high birth; Parker 1850, of a respectable
commercial family; Grindall 1575) was the
son OF justice; Wright (15S3), of very
respectable merchant; Bancroft 5000 was a
gentleman's sop, and his mother was niece
TO Archbishop Curwyn, Of Dublin; Abbot
Q61l) was the son Of cloth worker. There
is tradition that shortly before his birth
his neither dreamed that could she catch
and eat pike the coming child would be a
boy and very distinguished. She accom-
plIshed both the capture and eating of the
fish. The story got abroad, and in that SUI
perstitions age had 30 much effect fh at some
Psrsnna- of Substance offered themselves as
sponsors and assisted in the boys education.
Archbishop Laud (1633-45), on one occasion,
showed great vexation on reading a paper
charging him with "being born OF parentage
50 base that it might appear he had been
raked out of dung-hill." He had not, he
said, had the good fortune to be born gen.
tlemaD, yet he thanked God that he came of
honest and well-to-do parents. Lands
father was, in fact, an sffluent clotaier, and
his mothers brother. Sir William Webb,
was lord mayor in 1891. JuIon Q660),
too, came CT a commercial family, con-
nected with the Merchant Tailors'
Company. His father, however, was
receiver-generel of the See of Chichester.
Sheldon (16e3) seems 10 have come of
well-to-do falaIly of the middle class, and
Sancroft the same. Tillotson (1691) was son
of Yorkshire clothier; Wake was of an
ancient and distinguished knighuy family;
Tension (1694) was son of a Norfolk parson;
Potter (l737), of dry goods dealer; Herring
(l747), OF Norfolk parson; Seeker (175S)
was son of well-to-do Noncouformist by
the daughter OF very substantial yeoman.
The Hon. Frederick CORVALLIS Q768) was
son of peer and nearly related to The we'll
known marquis. John Moore 17S3) came
of very humble stock, and rose trst through
the influence of duke, 10 whose son he was
tutor. He msrried an aunt of the lady 10
whom William Pitt was once engaged.
Charles Manners Sutton (1S05) vas Of a
noble family. William Howley's QS28)
origin is unknown to us. John Sumner was
son of parson. Charles Longley. The inn
mediate predecessor of Archbishop TAFT, was
of a gentleman's family, and Dr. Tait's
father was an Edinburgh solicitor. We be-
lieve that there is not single prominent
family in England to-day claiming descent
from any of the prelates above mentioned
except Viscount Canterbury, who is great
grandson of Archbishop Manners-Sutten.