The Grigsbys Part Seven - A Puritan and an Immigrant

The Grigsby fortune was pretty much gone by the time Thomas died in about 1650.  In England about that time, a civil war was raging.  

A little history as background here.  Queen Elizabeth the First was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.  Known as the Virgin Queen, she never married and died without heir.  So the throne passed to her first cousin twice removed, King James VI of Scotland, and he became James I of England.  James was used to doing what he wanted to in Scotland (the Parliament there was weak), and he was confused when the stronger Parliament of England tried to keep him in check.

James was known as a spender, but peaceful, so when the throne passed to his son Charles I, England and Scotland had good relations.  Charles was more ambitious, and wanted to unite England, Scotland and Ireland into a new single kingdom.  The English Parliament didn't really like that idea, thinking that they'd lose old English traditions as well as the Monarchy.

But Charles, like his father, believed that Kings can do whatever they want without permission.  Charles had the nerve to dissolve Parliament!  But then when he realized he couldn't raise money without it, he reinstated it in 1628.

But then he refused to call Parliament for 11 years, called "Eleven Years' Tyranny".  When Charles couldn't raise money any other way, he finally called a new Parliament in 1640.  By this time, he had made a big mess of things in England and Scotland, and this Parliament put measures in place to put him in check.  Charles sent 400 troops to Parliament to arrest 5 members for treason, but he failed, and fled to the countryside to avoid retribution.

There were two sides to this war - the Royalists, who were on the side of Charles, and the Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell.  The Puritans were mostly Presbyterian, and were angry about the excesses of not only the Kings, but the Church of England.  John Grigsby, Thomas' son, was a Puritan, and fought against the King.

Long story, short, Charles was eventually found guilty of treason, and beheaded in 1649, just before Thomas died.  Oliver Cromwell acted as the Protectorate of England until Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660.  Actually, Oliver died in 1658, but his son held the role until the monarchy was re-established.

So now John Grigsby found himself on the wrong side, having fought against the king with the Puritans.  What's a boy with no money and in trouble with the king to do but leave the country to seek his fortune?

The Grigsby Coat of Arms