Thomas DeLaune
Thomas DeLaune (d. 1685), was an Irish non-conformist writer known for running a grammar school and printing house.[1] He was born in Brinny, County Cork on an unknown date.[2] Protestant persecution forced him to flee to England where he met Edward Hutchinson, a Baptist minister and writer. Thomas would later marry his daughter Hannah. Thomas was a scholar, not considering himself to be a minister or lay preacher but entered into many religious debates. He would speak against Richard Baxter, Obadiah Wills, and Joseph Whiston on the subject of infant baptism. Thomas DeLaune would end up dying in prison in 1685. He was accused and found guilty of writing seditious material against the king and the Book of Common Prayer in January of 1684. Deprived of his income as a schoolmaster, his wife and two children would move to live near his prison in Newgate.[2] They would eventually suffer and die from undernourishment. Thomas died in Newgate, in prison, fifteen months after his incarceration. Thomas DeLaune would be considered a martyr for generations of Nonconformists. DeLaune would be one of 8,000 Dissenters who were executed or died in prison during Charles II's reign.[3]
List of works:
- Truth defended, or a triple answer to the late triumvirates opposition in their three pamphlets, viz., Mr. Baxter's review, Mr. Wills his censure, Mr. Whiston's postscript to his essay, &c. (1677)
- Angliae metropolis: or, the present state of London (1681)
- Тролоλoya, or, a key to open scripture metaphors (1681) *with Benjamin Keach*
- Compulsion of conscience condemned, wherein, is plainly demonstrated how inconsistent it is with Scripture, the Fundamental Laws of England, and Common Equity, &c. (1683)
- Two letters to Dr. Benjamin Calamy, one in English, the other in Latine (1684)
- A Plea for the Non-Conformists (1684) *reprinted 23 times between 1684 - 1845. Here is a 1704 copy in good condition. In 1706, with a Preface by Daniel DeFoe*
- Εικών του θηρίου or the image of the beast (1684) *pamphlet*
- A narrative of the sufferings of Thomas Delaune (1684)
Books and articles written about DeLaune:
- Delaune: The English Baptist Martyr (1870) by an American Baptist, Charles Thompson.
- Thomas Delaune (ca.1635-1645-1685) by Andy Compton, in The British Particular Baptists - Vol. I Revised, edited by Michael A. G. Haykin and Terry Wolever
- Thomas Delaune: The life and times of Ireland's first Baptist martyr by Andy Compton, in Occasional Publications edited Michael A. G. Haykin
- The History of the English Baptists by Thomas Crosby, *start on p. 366*
- ↑ Andrews, H. (2009). Delaune, Thomas. Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 2024, from https://www.dib.ie/biography/delaune-thomas-a2517
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lewis, S. (2022). The Reception of Thomas Delaune's Plea for the Non-Conformists in England and America, 1684–1870. Church History, 91(1), 41–61. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009640721002869
- ↑ Compton, A. (2018). Thomas Delaune: The life and times of Ireland's first Baptist martyr (M. A. Haykin, Ed.). Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies. Retrieved 2024, from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57b5f4a2f7e0ab87b8abc3c8/t/6185bd42e02b0768d51ea74b/1636154692037/No.+6+-+Delaune.pdf