Thomas DeLaune

Thomas DeLaune (d. 1685), was an Irish non-conformist writer known for running a grammar school and printing house. 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 children would move to live near his prison in Newgate. They would eventually suffer and die from undernourishment. Thomas died in Newgate, in prison, fifteen months after his incarceration.