St. Nicholas Parish Church, Gloucester, England. John Workman (Puritan Preacher) preached in this church, also buried here
On the European continent the equivalent to the surname of Workman would undoubtedly be the French form "Ouvrier," and it is entirely possible that in ancient times this was the name by which the family was known. The word WORKMAN is Anglo-Saxon in origin, stemming from the two words WOERC and MAN, the compounded word being recorded as early as the year 1273, when a Gilbert Le Worcman was mentioned in the records of the county of Oxford. In the poll tax list of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the year 1379, Johannes Werkman is named. The lack of a standard English language in the early era, along with the vagaries of the scribes of the day, gave rise to many forms of spelling for the same name. It appears variously for the same people, as Workman, Warkeman, Workeman, Worcman, Woercman, etc., giving rise to the later forms in Holland of Woertman, Wortman, and Van De Werkin.
Being a trade name, denoting a service of some kind, the name Workman may pop up in most any place and in unrelated families, just as the name Cooper refers to the barrel maker and there could be Coopers in a number of different villages who were so-called because of their trade but not because of relationship. The nature of this particular name, however, is such that seemingly only those who for some reason had cause to be proud of the association maintained the surname for successive generations. Others dropped the appellation or asumed other names within a short while. One family line of the Workman name seems to have originated in London where the men were prominent in the trades world, being drapers there and connected with the royal courts. Another strong family group, and by far the largest and most far-reaching in its influence, is the family of Workmans who contributed to the growth and prosperity of the shire of Gloucester.
It is in Gloucester that the coat of arms makes its first appearance. This is the family that carried and enlarged upon the name, producing scholars, doctors, ministers, scientists, and authors who have made the name Workman a proud one in that land of America's cultural heritage. It is here, too, that the name takes on the meaning of "keeper of the fortress," indicating that those who carried the arms were empowered by the ruler of the land to be the overseers of important property for the crown. In Gloucester and in Ireland, where one part of the family became established during the Cromwellian era, legends maintain that the family actually originated in the low countries of Europe; that they were trusted and close companions of the kings.
These same legends, although unproven as yet, state that the family was affiliated with the Huguenot movement and they came to England about the time of St. Bartholomew's Massacre. If this is so, the purge which culminated in that night of horror had forewarned the Workmans and they sought asylum in the British Isles some time earlier, probably soon after the edict of 29 Jan. 1535, which ordered the extermination of all heretics. Such a leave taking would permit them to bring their wealth with them. The first documented evidence of Workman residence I in England appears there in 1543, and at that time they were peop e of above average means. 'The first wave of Huguenot refugees from the continent ~commg mainly from La Rochelle, France, where the names Louvrier and de Louvrier (French forms of the name Workman) are still quite common, brought to England many people who were weavers and experts in the textile field. Interestingly enough, it was these weavers who chose to settle in Gloucester where the climate and industry were suitable for the pursuance of their trade. The Workmans, too, were weavers, but they also soon came to be prominent yeomen - the landed and prosperous farmers of early England. They owned and leased considerable property in the shire and contributed greatly to its wealth and stability. These first families also contributed scholars to the University of Oxford at a time when only those of some affluence were permitted such privileges. Their descendants have followed the same practices and traditions and still own valuable property there and contribute to the cultural well-being of the area.
Foremost in the English Workman history, and probably the common ancestor of most who bear the name, is NICHOLAS WORKMAN whose will, made 13th day of June 1543 was probated 19 July 1543 by his wife. An abstract of this will foliows:
"In dei nom' Amen the xiijth day of June the yere of our lorde god 1543 and in the yere of the XXXVth reigne of o'r soveraigne lorde henry the eight by the grace of god of Englonde, ffraunce and Ireland, kinge defendor of the feithe, 1, NICHOLAS WORKEMAN of kings stanley wth in the Dioces of Gloue", husbandman, being sicke of bodye but of good and perfite memory, make my Testament and last will in maner & fourme following.
"I bequethe my sowlle to Almighty god & my bodye to be buryed in the churche yarde of kings stanley.
I geve and bequethe to very of my childers That ys to say to RICHARD, UMFFREY, WILLIAM, JOHN THOMAS a d EDWARDE one kowe to be delyvered to eyther of them ~geynste the tymne of their maryage.
I geve and bequethe to evry of my doughters That ys to saye JONE, ALYCE and KATHERYN one koew to be delyvered as ys abovesayd.
I geve and bequethe to every of my saide doughters one bedd with thappurtenances to be delyvered to eyther of them as ys abovesaid. And yf yt fortune eny of my seyde Childers to Decesse before the tyme of theire mariage That then I wolde that their legacies to them dewe shall come and remayne to my executors.
The residewe of all my goods and Catalls not bequethed I geve and bequethe holy to JULYAN my wiffe and UMPREY my sonne whome I make and ordeyne my Executors to bring my bodie honestly in erthe and paye any detts and funeralls and to performe this my last will. Also I will and ordeyne RICHARD COKE to be over seer of this my last will and testament. To this witnessethe Sr. OLYVER BOSEK, curet there and WILLIAM MYLWARD. Proved by J. Workman, 19th July 1543."
1E. NICHOLAS WORKMAN of Kings Stanley, Gloucestershire, England, died June or July 1543; married JULYANN (Gy1lian, or Lillian) who survived him 11 yrs., her will being probated 12 Sept. 1554. Their children:
Nicholas Workman had at least three brothers living in Gloucester. They were:
St. Nicholas Parish Church, Gloucester, England. John Workman (Puritan Preacher) preached in this church, also buried here
22E. JOHN WORKMAN, son of William Workman 21E (Humfrey2E Nicholas 1E ) and Elizabeth Cocks; born in 1590 probably in Lasborough, Gloucester, England; buried in St. Nicholas churchyard, City of Gloucester, England, 12 Jan. 1640/1; married ESTHER WOOD of BrookThorpe, Cam, Gloucester.
At the time of John's birth, the family owned property and were living in Lasborough; and, although they continued to own property there, they eventually expanded their holdings and moved to a larger home in Newington Bagpath where the younger children were born. Although rated as commoners - (not being of the titled gentry), the family position was such that, on 3 June 1608 at the age of 18, John Workman was. able to matriculate, in St. Albans Hall, Oxford. There he received his B.A. degree on 27 May 1611 and his M.A. on 8 July 1614. Very soon thereafter he seems to have been ordained to the ministry and was lecturing in and around the city of Gloucester, the Cathedral city of his home diocese.
Either during his school years or during the first part of his ministry, John became affiliated with the Puritan movement which was instituted by members and leaders of the Anglican church to resist the trend of certain leaders towards the tenets and practices of Catholicism. By the year 1619, he had attained such favor that the city council of Gloucester, looking for a minister to serve the spiritual 'needs of the Puritans of the city, appointed him lecturer for that group, lectures to be given twice a week with one of them to be at 9 a.m. Thursday morning in the parish church of St. Michaels and the other to be held on Sunday afternoon and to alternate between St. Michaels and St. Nicholas parishes. The city of Gloucester had become a stronghold of the Puritans; the city council under the mayorship of John Brewster had Puritan leanings, and even the Bishop of the diocese was lenient.
A powerful preacher and well liked by the people of the community, John was appointed to the ministry of St. Nicholas in the year 1622, which position he held with distinction in addition to the lectureship. The wave of favor was so strong that eventually the council, wishing to extend the sphere of John's influence, endeavored to gain an appointment for him to preach at the Cathedral college on Sunday. But this was not to be. The old Bishop was no longer there and a new one, Bishop Godfrey Goodman, was not so favorable, Moreover, Dean Laud working under Bishop Goodman, had taken a strong dislike to Mr. Workman and led the movement to counteract his influence. Two strong factions developed, one headed by Goodman and Laud and the other by John Workman. John contended that the church was now too "popish" in its leaning and teachings, while Goodman and Laud contended that John was a heretic and a traitor to his country. It was an unequal battle, and by 1627 Bishop Goodman had John Workman suspended from St. Nicholas.
In spite of this action, the city council continued to support John Workman and as late as 26 Sept. 1633 voted to give John his stipend whether "he preach or not." By this time Dean Laud had become the Archbishop of Canterbury and could have forgotten the local dispute; but his hatred was so intense that, aided by Bishop Goodman, the city council was arrested and tried for supporting John and the Puritan movement. A heavy fine was imposed and to avoid further reprimand they were forced to withdraw from the contest. In the meantime., John Workman had been summoned to appear before the Bishop "for the scandalous matter of some of his, sermons." The Bishop complained that Workman had delivered in open pulpit that pictures, 0maments, and images had no place, in a church and they tended too much to, idolatry; that ministers were not chosen properly; and that John had itusually prayed for the States of Holland and the King of Sweden before the King's Majesty." Archbishop Laud contended that the latter was the usual garb of the men of this party (Puritans) and as such they were traitors to the country as well as to the church.
Very soon after Laud became archbishop, John. was summoned to Canterbury to stand trial. John admitted the content of his sermons and never wavered in support of the things which he believed. He was ordered repeatedly to produce notes or copies of his sermons. showing these things. He was imprisoned and eventually excommunicated from the church, being ordered to make public denial of the -things he had taught. This he refused to do saying that to do so would force him to acknowledge something which he had formerly denied on, his oath. He begged them to, study and rephrase the proposition.
Weary, broken in health from the long trial and imprisonment and divested of his priesthood, John Workman was allowed to return to Gloucester. There he opened a school for boys; but the Bishop forced him to close it saying that, if he was not fit to preach neither should he teach. John then attempted to practice medicine, an art in which he was proficient; but that too was denied him. A number of years later, when Archbishop Laud was being tried for heresy to the Protestant faith, he was charged with undue persecution of John Workman. He replied that he had nothing against John practicing his arts in any other place but it was not possible to allow him to do, anything in this town where he was so well known and had such a large, following. In the last months of his life, the city council again voted a sum of money to aid John Workman and an annuity was also voted to.care for his widow. He died at age 50.
Historians of the next century, notably Neal in his "History of Puritanism" and Stratford in "Great and Good Men of Gloucester," state that at the age of 43, during his trials, John Workman,was allowed to go home to care for his "large family." No record of children has yet been found, however. He does not mention them in his will, and his nephew in 1681 says that John died "sine prole." Could it be that, out of love and compassion for this valiant minister, Mayor John Brewster and the city council found asylum for the family with that other Brewster and the Puritans who fled to Holland?
It is interesting to note that in the decade following John Workman's death both Bishop Godfrey Goodman and Archbishop Laud were tried and condemned by the Ecclesiastical courts for th very charges which John Workman had made against them. And it is certainly the story of John Workman that has colored the legends of the American Workmans when they say their people were connected with the Puritan movement in England and they went to Holland for religious freedom. 28E. GILES WORKMAN, son of William Workman 21E (Humfrey2E Nicholas1E) and Elizabeth Cocks; born 1605 in Newington (Newton) Bagpath, Gloucester, England; buried 14 Feb. 1655/6 in Alderly, Gloucester, England; married in 1635 to ANNE PETTY (born 1613 of Fauley, Oxford Co., England; died 30 March 1655 Newington Bagpath, Gloucester, England; dau of Leonard Petty). Their children:
Following in the footsteps of his elder brother, Giles Workman matriculated in Oxford, Magdalen Hall, 27 June 1623, at age 18; received his B.A. 21 Oct. 1626; his Master's from St. Edmund's Hall 11 June 1629. He became vicar of Wallford, Hertfordshire, but it was not long until he became master (teacher) and minister in the College School in Gloucester. In 1642, under the patronage of Judge Hale, Giles became the rector of Alderley, which post he maintained until his death, living at the nearby family home in Newington Bagpath to which he had been the heir after the death of his parents.
A much milder echo of his elder brother, Giles never antagonized his peers, although he was quick to come to his brother's defense when the occasion arose. While in Wallford, he offered asylum to John when, broken in health by his imprisonment, he needed rest and care. After John's death, when vilifying articles were written concerning him, Giles quickly took the pulpit in his defense; and in 1646, he published a sermon entitled "Private Men No Pulpit Men." A verbal battle between the clergy of Gloucester had been going on since 1641. This dissertation had been in reply and was now being printed as a clincher to the argument. In a foreword to the reader, Giles says: ". . . a reply both for the manifestation of truth, to the undeceiving of the people; and for the Vindication. of a painfull Minister, deceased, near in relation to me, for a foul Aspersion and unchristian slander laid upon him in that writing... I have left out that which pertains to the slander." The issue had become much bigger than the personal affront. In this book, which may be seen at the British Museum, Giles quotes at length from the Puritan minister of Boston, Mr. Cotton. It is significant that Giles should have been so closely associated with the Puritans in America that he would be quoting from their beliefs and writings.