Profession: Clergyman
Biography: John Wheelwright was an English clergyman and colonist in North America, best known for his role in the Antinomian Controversy that shook the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 1630s. A contemporary and ally of Anne Hutchinson, Wheelwright was also a proponent of Free Grace theology, which put him at odds with the prevailing Puritan leadership of the colony.
Wheelwright was born in England and educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he likely encountered Puritan teachings. After serving as a clergyman in England, he migrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636, partly due to his sympathies with Puritanism and also due to the religious and political turmoil in England.
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Wheelwright quickly became embroiled in the Antinomian Controversy, a theological conflict that centered on the nature of grace and the signs of God's favor. He supported the views of his sister-in-law, Anne Hutchinson, who argued for a "covenant of grace" as opposed to the "covenant of works" preached by most of the colony's ministers.
Wheelwright's open support for these controversial theological views, particularly his sermon delivered during a fast day in January 1637, was deemed seditious and heretical by the colony's authorities. He was tried and convicted for contempt and sedition and, like Hutchinson, was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Following his banishment, Wheelwright first moved north and helped found the settlement of Exeter in what is now New Hampshire. He later moved to Maine and then back to England for a brief period during the English Civil War. In his later years, Wheelwright returned to New England, settling in Salisbury, Massachusetts, where he continued his ministry until his death.
Born: c. 1592
Birthplace: Saleby, Lincolnshire, England
Died: November 15, 1679
Personal Life
- 1621-11-08 John Wheelwright, English-American Puritan clergyman, marries Mary Storre in Lincolnshire
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