Historical Excerpts of the LOCKE Family

From: The Book of the Lockes, by John Goodwin Locke

Origins

Tradition considers the name of Locke to be of Scotch extraction, originally spelled Loch; but, if so, it must have been in very early time. When Alfred was king of the West Saxons in England (871-899), he saved his country from Danish conquest, laid the basis for the unification of England under the West Saxon monarchy, and led a revival of learning and literature. During this time, Alfred divided this kingdom into parishes, and there was known of the dwelling of a great man named Locke, and the town Lockestown which was named after him. It adjoins East Brent, and is between Weston and Axbridge (A38) in Somerset. At one time the family became numerous, but apparently misfortunes fell upon his descendants and the land was divided and sold. To this day there remains the town of Lockston, the Parish of Locking just 2 miles from the town, and a large farm called Lockinghead now belonging to the merchants of Bristol.
The Locke family in this area consider themselves as descended from a very ancient house, arguing that they gave names to the parishes where they lived, before the Conquest (1066), and do not derive their name with a De from the parishes, as is very commonly the case.
Very little else can be found about members of the Locke family who distinguished themselves until 1350 when Robert Locke became Vicecomes of Wiltshire under Thomas de Saint Maur, and John Locke who was the Sheriff of London in 1460.

Sir William Locke, Knight

When Henry VIII had parliament pass two acts in 1534 that 1) declared that the Pope had no authority in England, and 2) declared that Henry was the head of the Church of England, Pope Clement VII reacted by issuing a Bull (proclamation) that a curse be upon Henry VIII and the whole country. This Bull was posted at Dunkirk, France, and William Locke succeeded in the dangerous mission of pulling it down. For this exploit, the King granted him a freehold of 100 pounds per year, dubbed him a Knight, and made him one of the gentlemen of his privy chamber. Sir William lived to be an alderman of London, and was Sheriff of the city in 1548. He died in 1550.

Of the descendants of Sir William in England, the information is imperfect, but the list includes: George Locke of Tiverton buried at St. Sidwell's in Essex 1586, Thomas Locke of Little Horsely, Essex, Rev. John Locke, Rector of Askerwell, Dorset, father to the Rev. William Locke (d.1686), Sir John Locke, Knight, an East India director (d.1746), and James Locke, his brother, husband to the Turkey Company. And yet perhaps none of these can compare to the contributions of John Locke, the great metaphysician and philosopher (1632- 1704), the Gr. Gr. Gr. grandson of Sir William.

This chart shows how John Locke and William Locke were 1st cousins !

                        Sir William Locke ( -1550)
                                     |
                                     |
                               Michael Locke
                                     |
                                     |
                               Matthew Locke
                                     |
                                     |
                             Christopher Locke
                                     |
   -------------------------------------------------------------------
   |           |          |          |          |         |          |
 Sarah    Christopher    John      Honour   Christian   Lewis     William
(1587- )  (1593-    ) (1595-1645) (1597- )  (1601- )   (1606- )  (    -    )
m.Nicholas                |                                          |
  Davies                  |                                          |
 (1595- )            John Locke                                   William
                     (1632-1704)                               (1628-1720)
                  (the philosopher)                            (of Woburn)

The Battle of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775)

The following members of the Locke family were present on Lexington green. None of them were injured or killed.

     Walker's Company from Woburn           (Age in 1775)
         William Locke bapt. Feb 7, 1720         (54)
         Thomas Locke     b.Aug 29, 1756         (18)

     Capt. Parker's Company from Lexington
         Amos Locke       b.Dec 24, 1742         (33)
         Benjamin Locke   b.May  7, 1756         (19)

     With Sylvanus Wood
         Ebenezer Locke   b.Nov  3, 1732         (42)

    From "History of Deering", Deering, NH
         Ebenezer Locke   b.MAr 2 1735           (40)

                                William
                                   |
                 ------------------+---------------------|
                 |                                       |
             William                                   Joseph
                 |                                       |
        |-------------|                         |--------+----------|
        |             |                         |                   |
    Ebenezer       William                    Joseph              Stephen
        |             |                         |                   |
        |        |----+---+-------|          |--+---|           |---+-----|
        |        |        |       |          |      |           |         |
    Ebenezer  Thomas  Ebenezer  William   Joseph   Amos       Reuben   Benjamin
       (40)      |      (42)     (54)              (33)                  (19)
                 |
                 |
              Thomas
               (18)

In the "History of Deering", Deering, NH it is said that Ebenezer Locke
fired the first shot "that was heard 'round the world."