Mr. Whifton's Account of Part of Dr. Thomas Turner's great Benefaction to the Corporation for the Relief of poor Widows and Children of Clergymen ;

Humbly dedicated to the Governors and Benefactors of that Corporation.

T cannot be unknown to many of this fociety,

IT

that Dr. Thomas Turner, brother to Dr. Francis Turner, late bishop of Ely, continued prefident of Corpus Chrifti College in Oxford, a place of about 300l. per Annum, for about 12 years that he continued alfo rector of Tharfield, near Royfton; a living of near 300 l. per Annum, for about the fame twelve years: and that he continued alfo prebendary of Ely; which prebend was worth about 120 l. per Annum, for the fame time, I mean all these after the impofition of the abjuration oath, A. D. 1702. It cannot alfo but be well known to this fociety in general, that the fame Dr. Turner gave to them by will, not much lefs than 20,000l. as the infcription on his noble monument, at Nine Churches, Northamptonshire, which I myself have feen, fully informs us. But then, by what means, upon what occafion, and by whofe lofs he came to die poffefs'd of fuch good preferments, and was able to become fo great a benefactor to the fociety, I suppose, but very few of its members do at all know; nor do they probably in the leaft imagine that one, comparatively fo poor and fo low in the world as myfelf, has been in no fmall measure, the person who occafion'd and enabled him to be fo great a benefactor: which yet is the certain truth; although I have not hitherto infifted on any equitable right for my family on that account : nor indeed had I now done it, had I not been

conftrained by almost a conftant feries of difappointments elsewhere, in providing a competent maintenance for fome of them; yet is it by no means improper for me to address myself on behalf of my children to this fociety; which was inftituted for the widows and children of clergymen only; because they all bear the neareft relation to the clergy; and are both by the father's and mother's fide, the children, the grand children, and the great grand children of Clergymen; if that may deserve any confideration with this fociety.

Be pleased therefore to know, that upon the impofition of the Abjuration Oath, A. D. 1702, to be taken by all in church preferments, by Aug. 1, on penalty of voiding all fuch preferments, Dr. Turner went down from London to Oxford, July 28th, with a refolution not to take the oath, but to quit all his preferments: that the A. B. of Canterbury, Dr. Tennison, thereupon wrote immediate word of fuch his refolution, to the Bp. of Ely, Dr. Patrick; that fo he might have time to think of a proper fucceffor to his prebend of Ely: that Bp. Patrick did, in the moft kind, but unexpected manner, immediately, with his own hand, write to me to Cambridge, to come to Ely, to take that prebend and that accordingly I did then go to Ely, with a full expectation of returning back a prebendary of that church. But as foon as I came thither, I met the bishop with a fecond letter to me in his hand upon that fubject; which letter will fully prove the truth of my narration hitherto. And tho' I cannot yet find the firft letter, this which I have now by me, will, of itself, abundantly supply the other's place alfo. It was in thefe words.

Ely,

Good Sir,

HAB

Ely, Aug. 18, 1702.

AVING the intelligence which I fent you about Dr. Turner, from no less person than his grace the archbishop of Canterbury, I thought it might be relied on; for he faid he had it from good hands. But hearing it contradicted, I wrote to his grace, to know whether there were any certainty in it, and by the laft poft received an anfwer, that he doth not know what to believe, reports are so various. Certain it is, he went on the 28th of July from London, with a refolution not to take the oath, but quit all his preferments and yet, on the 3d of August, one of my acquaintance came through Oxford, lay there all night, and dined with the head of a house next day, and was with several others, but heard not one word of his laying down his prefidentship, as was reported. This he told me laft week and on Sunday I faw a letter to one in this town, from a fellow of his college, who fays, he faw their prefident, Dr. Turner, at prayers that day in the chapel, which was the twelfth inftant, which makes me think he changed his mind when he was gone from London; and hath qualified himself to keep his preferments: however it be, I intended very fincerely towards you, who may look upon it as a token of my future kindness, if it be in my power.

Yours,

SY. ELIENS,

But then, not long after I was returned from Ely to Cambridge, a very good friend of mine, Mr. Lunn, by name, lately archdeacon of Huntingdon, who had been made acquainted with the impofition

M 3

that

1

that Dr. Turner had put upon the world, and upon the bishop of Ely in particular; and after what an unwonted manner I had loft my preferment; came and told me," that if he had as good a promise, "from the bishop of Ely, as I had, he would foon "be a prebendary there; that Dr. Turner had not "taken the oath: but upon advice that a blot was << no blot till it was bit, he acted as if he had taken "it; and fo retain'd his preferments without taken "it at all" upon this information I had great debates with myself; the refult of which was, that I would enquire after Dr. Turner's character; and if I found it a bad one, I would not fcruple to difcover the grand fecret, and endeavour to difpoffefs him, and recover my prebend; but if it proved a good one, I would not do fo, but content myfelf with my prefent ftate, and trust the good providence of God to make fome farther provifion for me and my family, which was then ftrait enough, in fome other way, to me more unexceptionable. Upon which enquiry, finding that the doctor's character was not only in general a good one, but that he was one of the greateft exemplars and promoters of learning, virtue, and good difcipline in the univerfity of Oxford, I refolved to keep that grand piece of knowledge fecret; and accordingly did fo; and fuffered him all along to enjoy all his preferments, without the leaft moleftation: and this notwithstanding the additional confirmation I fome time afterwards had, of his not having taken the oath, from both Sir Peter King, afterward lord chancellor; and Dr. Rundle, afterward bifhop Rundle; who themselves knew Dr. Turner's cafe: to whom I then communicated my knowledge of it al- · fo, and to no other perfons living. However, about ten years after, when my banishment from the univerfity of Cambridge had brought my affairs low, and reduc'd me to seek the greatest part of my daily

bread

bread in the wide world, I thought proper to let Dr. Turner know the circumstances I was in, and to inform him what expectations I had then to partake of his chriftian compaflion and charity; which I did by the following letter.

Hon. Sir,

Te

Lower End of Cross-Street, Hatton-Garden, October 25, 1712.

HO' I am not perfonally known to you, yet are your circumftances and mine fuch, as make it not improper for me to addrefs myself to you. 'Tis not impoffible but you may have heard, that fome years ago, when the oath of abjuration was impos'd, you declar'd yourself intirely diffatisfied therewith; and when by confequence your prebend of Ely would have been void by your refufal of that oath, I was the perfon on whom bishop Patrick intended to bestow it: as accordingly his lordship was pleased to write to me, to come to Ely to take it; which I did accordingly. At which time, news was come, that you did not openly refufe the oath, nor quit any preferment thereupon; and so that matter was over for the prefent. Upon this, tho' I was pretty authentickly inform'd, that you had never taken that abjuration oath; (which I have fince heard confirm'd from more hands than one, and those fuch as I believe may be depended on ;) and tho' it was in my power to have made full enquiry, and thereupon to have vacated your preferments, and to have fucceeded to one of them, yet would I not then nor fince do it, and that chiefly on account of that very good character which I heard of you, and which has been all along confirm'd to me and because I was very unwilling to enjoy any advantage, which muft arife from a fort of profecution or perfecution of a very good man, who, out of a real principle of confcience, was unwilling legally to qualify himself for his preferments, which I abhor'd