Sir Robert Thomas, 2nd Baronet

Sir Robert Thomas, 2nd Baronet (c.1622-1685) was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons of England from 1661 to 1681. He was knighted and succeeded as baronet in 1673 on the death of his father.[1]

Life

Early life

Robert Thomas was the second son and heir of Sir Edward Thomas, 1st Baronet of Llanmihangel and Bettws (in English: Michaelstown), Glamorgan, Wales[2][3] and his wife Susan Morgan, daughter of Thomas Morgan of Rhiwperra (1564-1645, MP[4]). Robert's older brother, William, died before 1665. Younger brothers and sisters include John Thomas (c.1630-a.1676), Lt. Col. Lewis (Lewys) Thomas, Esq (??-1648), Humphrey Thomas (c.1627-1679), Anne (c. 1634-1694, second wife to Sir Thomas Nott, becoming Lady Anne Nott), and Susanna (c.1632-1682, married Dr. John Butler, Canon of Windsor Castle).[2]

Family

Robert Thomas married c.1654, Mary Jenkins, daughter of Judge David Jenkins, of Hensol.[5] With Mary, he had four children. Edward Thomas (??-before 1677), Mary (a.k.a. Maud, 1651-a.1702, married Marmaduke Gibbs, Esq.), Susannah (??-1747, married Robert Savours), and Capt. Robert Thomas (1654-1691; Jesus College, Oxford B.A. 1675, M.A. 1678, Fellow 1677-1685, matr. Lincoln's Inn 1676; married Catherine Acton in 1689; died at Battle of Aughrim, Ireland).[2]

In London, Robert Thomas either had a second marriage ("Lady Anne his wife" appears in birth records of the Parish of St. Giles in the Fields) or a mistress ("his own whore"[6]). With "Lady Anne", he had three children: Ann Thomas (1672-1708), Francis Thomas (1675-1695), and Susannah (1676-??, married Robert Hutchins). Francis Thomas was murdered in London on 22 Feb. 1694/5 O.S.[2][3]

Member of Parliament

In 1661, Robert Thomas was elected Member of Parliament for Cardiff in the Cavalier Parliament. He succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1673. He was re-elected MP for Cardiff in the two elections of 1679—in March 1679 for the short-lived Habeas Corpus Parliament (a.k.a. First Exclusion Parliament), and in September 1679 for the Exclusion Bill Parliament. The latter was summoned on 24 July 1679 O.S., but prorogued by the king so that it did not assemble until 21 October 1680 O.S., it was dissolved three months later on 18 January 1680/81 O.S.[5]

Offices

He was a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber of Charles II in 1660-1684, serving in the Lady Quarter (25 March - 24 June).[7][8]

Later Life and Death

Heavily in debt (est. ₤15,000-₤20,000[2][9]), Sir Robert Thomas was imprisoned in the Kings Bench Prison, c. 1684-1685. He finally sold his property in Glamorgan, Wales (Plas Llanmihangel, Bettws, Flemingston) to Humphrey Edwin for ₤12,812 in 1685.[2] The last record of Sir Robert Thomas was on 29 Apr 1685 at the King's Bench Prison, when he signed a petition in support of Titus Oates, the notorious promoter of the Popish Plot.[10] Though the circumstances of his death and burial are not known,[11][12] evidence from a court case[13] suggests that Sir Robert Thomas died before the end of 1685 (Old Style). The baronetcy then became extinct.[1][2][3]

Politics

Sir Robert's political and economic fortunes were intertwined. His Whig/anti-Catholic politics seem to have originated in resentment for the poor treatment his family received as Royalists during the English Civil War and Interregnum.[14] (His father Sir Edward Thomas suffered financial hardship and become indebted, while his father-in-law Judge David Jenkins suffered physical and emotional hardship of being tried for sedition and imprisoned in the Tower of London for 7 years.) A second factor was rivalry between and within gentry families in Wales. Many gentry families, including the Thomases, had Catholics in their extended family.[15] These rivalries and conflicts formed along lines of religion, political power and intrigue, economic power, and personal dislikes. A third factor shaping his politics were friendships and alliances formed with prominent Whigs and anti-Catholics in Wales and in London, including John Arnold, Sir Trevor Williams, Ford, Lord Grey, and, later, Popish Plot conspirator Titus Oates. Though not on any published list, Robert Thomas was probably a member of the Green Ribbon Club. He became an ally (if not trusted friend) of the Whig leader Anthony, Earl of Shaftesbury.[14][15] In Shaftesbury's evaluation of allies and enemies (May 1677), he only rated Thomas as "worthy" rather than "doubly worthy" or "thrice worthy".[16] On top of these factors, Sir Robert's extremism was probably fueled by his dire financial condition in the 1670s and 1680s,[14][9] i.e. such political actions could be used against enemies and to curry favor with powerful friends.

Anti-Catholic Activism and Involvement in The Popish Plot

In 1678-81 while a Member of Parliament, Sir Robert Thomas became embroiled in the anti-Catholic Popish Plot as an antagonist and accuser.[3]

Reputation

Both in his home county of Glamorgan, Wales and in London, Sir Robert Thomas was a controversial person with a mixed reputation. He was described variously as a "royalist sufferer",[15] "unmannerly behaviour" towards King Charles II and the Duke of York,[3] a "dubious ally",[14] a political "extremist" of the Country Party/Whig and anti-Catholic sort,[9] an "isolated adventurer"[9] rather than a Party loyalist, and a wealthy business person with "no sense".[6]

Regarding positive traits, Robert Thomas was friends with prominent literary people in London, including writer and antiquarian John Aubrey, playwright Thomas Shadwell, and poet and satirist Samuel Butler. On 27 Sept. 1680 O.S. Sir Robert was one of 25 friends attending the funeral of Samuel Butler at St. Paul's Covent Garden, and was a pallbearer along with Aubrey and Shadwell.[17] Being a pallbearer is a notable act of friendship, in part because Butler "died in want"[17] (poverty) and was no longer a popular figure.

The following episodes convey some of his negative traits and relationships.

In 1671, his father Sir Edward Thomas, 1st Baronet, filed a petition with the House of Commons, complaining of "Miscarriages, Frauds and Abuses, committed by his said Son". Robert Thomas denied the allegations and claimed he was falsely accused. After a committee investigation, the House took no action.[18][19]

In 1677, Sir Edward Mansel of Margam, also an MP, wrote private notes on the gentry of Glamorgan, and it included the following entry[6] (spelling in original, clarification in square brackets):

A. Sir Robert Thomas of Languchangell, Baronett

B. [Estates] £1700 if cleare

C. Aged 55. A man of great business but no sence

D. [Inclination as to the government] Known in his country as well as abroad

E. [Wife, children] First, Judge Jenkins' daughter 1 sone 1 daughter -- Last, his own whore, 2 children

In c.1684, a poem by an unknown author lampooning the gentry of Glamorgan included the following stanza with Sir Robert Thomas as subject[9]

Sir Robert the ass

I will not let pass

But give the devil his due

He never was good

To the next of his blood

To his wife nor his king never true.

The lines "He never was good / To the next of his blood" apparently referred to the conflict he had with his father, mentioned above.

References

1. John Burke and John Bernard Burke (1841), "Thomas, of Mitchelstown", A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies (2nd ed.), p 522., Retrieved 27 Dec 2020.
2. Helen M. Thomas (1997) "Llanmihangel, near Cowbridge: A tale of family fortunes and misfortunes". Morgannwg Transactions of the Glamorgan Local History Society, Vol. 41, p. 8-37. Retrieved 26 Dec. 2020
3. Leonard Naylor, "THOMAS, Robert (c.1622-aft.1684), of Cowbridge and Llanfihangel Plas, Glam.", History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 26 Dec. 2020
4. Henry Lancaster and Simon Healy, "MORGAN, Thomas (1564-1645), of Graig Olwy, Llangyfiw, Mon., Michaelston Fedwy, Mon. and Rhiwperra Castle, Llanfihangel-y-fedw, Glam.", History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 27 Dec. 2020
5. George Edward Cokayne (1990) Complete Baronetage Volume 2
6. In notes by Sir Edward Mansell of Margam, sent to Secretary of State, Sir Joseph Williamson in 1677, Philip Jenkins (1987), "The Glamorgan Gentry in 1677", National Library of Wales Journal Vol. 25, pp.53-70. Retrieved 26 Dec. 2020
7. Nicholas Carlisle (1829), An Inquiry Into the Place and Quality of the Gentlemen of His Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Chamber, London: Pane and Foss.. Retrieved 28 Dec. 2020
8. Edward Chamberlayne (1684), Angliæ Notitia: Or the Present State of England - The First Part, p 164. Retrieved 28 Dec 2020.
9. Phillip Jenkins (1979), "Two Poems on the Glamorgan Gentry Community in the Reign of James II", National Library of Wales Journal 21(2): 159-178. Retrieved 26 Dec. 2020
10. Titus Oates (1696), A Tragedy, Called the Popish Plot, Reviv'd, p 42. Retrieved 26 Dec. 2020
11. His friend Aubrey made a note to himself to look for Sir Robert's burial in the church of Cowbridge, Glamorgan: "Quaere Sir Robert Thomas whereabouts in the church or chancell" --John Aubrey, (Andrew Clark, Ed.) (1898), Brief Lives, Vol. 2, p5., Retrieved 28 Dec. 2020
12. There are no memorial inscriptions for Sir Robert Thomas at the parish church in Cowbridge --Monumental Inscriptions, Holy Cross Parish Church, Cowbridge, Glamorgan F.H.S. (undated). Retrieved 28 Ded 2020
13. Edwyn v Gibbs. Plaintiffs: Humphrey Edwyn. Defendants: Marmaduke Gibbs. Subject: personal estate of the deceased Sir Robert Thomas bart. Date: 1685, National Archives C 5/83/72
14. Phillip Jenkins (1983), The Making of a Ruling Class: The Glamorgan Gentry 1640-1790, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
15. Phillip Jenkins (1980). Anti-popery on the Welsh Marches in the Seventeenth Century. The Historical Journal, 23(2), pages 275-293. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00024286
16. K. H. D. Haley (1970), "Shaftesbury's Lists of the Lay Peers and Members of the Commons, 1677-8", Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, Vol. 43, No. 107, pp 86–105. https://doi-org/10.1111/j.1468-2281.1970.tb01652.x
17. John Aubrey (Andrew Clark, Ed.), (1898) Brief Lives, Vol. 1, p 136.. Retrieved 27 Dec 2020
18. British History Online, House of Commons Journal, Vol. 9: 28 February 1671, pages 209-210, Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1802. Retrieved 26 Dec. 2020.
19. Debates of the House of Commons: From the Year 1667 to the Year 1694, Volume 1, p 400, 413 Google Books

Sources

Jenkins, Phillip (1983), The Making of a Ruling Class: The Glamorgan Gentry 1640-1790, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Naylor, Leonard (2020), "THOMAS, Robert (c.1622-aft.1684), of Cowbridge and Llanfihangel Plas, Glam.", History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 26 Dec. 2020

Thomas, Helen M. (1997) "Llanmihangel, near Cowbridge: A tale of family fortunes and misfortunes". Morgannwg Transactions of the Glamorgan Local History Society, Vol. 41, p. 8-37. Retrieved 26 Dec. 2020