# John Lightfoot



## VirginiaHuguenot

John Lightfoot, English Puritan and Westminster Divine, was born on March 29, 1602 and died on December 6, 1675. He was a noted Hebraist and Biblical commentator, and author of many godly works.


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## VirginiaHuguenot

A portion of his commentary on the New Testament is available online here.


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## blhowes

Trivia question for our "resident historian"...

I was curious about the name and if he was any relation to Gordon Lightfoot, so I did a quick search.


> Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: John Lightfoot settled in Virginia in 1610; ten years before the "Mayflower:...


This John Lightfoot is a contemporary, but apparently not the same guy. Any idea how the two are related?


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## VirginiaHuguenot

That is an interesting question, Bob. 

I found a reference to the John Lightfoot who arrived in Virginia in 1610. He arrived on the _Sea Venture_, which also carried John Rolfe, who married Pocahontas, and which shipwrecked on the island of Bermuda, the account of which is said to have provided the inspiration for Shakespeare's _The Tempest_. Thus, Lightfoot is one of the First Families of Virginia (the list in Wikipedia is incomplete). As it turns out, I am FFV (_not_ FV!!) too, being related to Sir Francis Wyatt, one of the first colonial governors of Virginia. And my wife is descended from John Rolfe and Pocahontas. However, back to your question...

I was not able during my brief research to identify the ancestors of the John Lightfoot who arrived in Virginia in 1610, although the father of John Lightfoot, member of the Westminster Assembly, is known to be Thomas Lightfoot, vicar of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. There are books and websites devoted to Lightfoot genealogy, and there are Jamestown settler records in Richmond and elsewhere, which could be reviewed, but to make the connection, if any, between our two John Lightfoots (I found at least 20 separate entries with that name while digging around) would require more than I can do at present. Lightfoot is a significant name in Virginia history (for example, Francis Lightfoot Lee or the town of Lightfoot, VA). 

Good question, Bob. If anyone else knows more about a possible connection between the two John Lightfoots mentioned (or Gordon Lightfoot  ), I would be interested to learn more, as well.


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## blhowes

VirginiaHuguenot said:


> I found a reference to the John Lightfoot who arrived in Virginia in 1610. He arrived on the _Sea Venture_, which also carried John Rolfe, who married Pocahontas, and which shipwrecked on the island of Bermuda, the account of which is said to have provided the inspiration for Shakespeare's _The Tempest_. Thus, Lightfoot is one of the First Families of Virginia (the list in Wikipedia is incomplete). *As it turns out, I am FFV (not FV!!) too, being related to Sir Francis Wyatt, one of the first colonial governors of Virginia. And my wife is descended from John Rolfe and Pocahontas.*


Now, that's the kind of history worth finding out about...



VirginiaHuguenot said:


> However, back to your question...
> 
> I was not able during my brief research to identify the ancestors of the John Lightfoot who arrived in Virginia in 1610, although the father of John Lightfoot, member of the Westminster Assembly, is known to be Thomas Lightfoot, vicar of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. There are books and websites devoted to Lightfoot genealogy, and there are Jamestown settler records in Richmond and elsewhere, which could be reviewed, but to make the connection, if any, between our two John Lightfoots (I found at least 20 separate entries with that name while digging around) would require more than I can do at present. Lightfoot is a significant name in Virginia history (for example, Francis Lightfoot Lee or the town of Lightfoot, VA).



...but this other historical stuff, interesting to know if info is handy, pales in significance compared to the first piece of info.


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## VirginiaHuguenot

I've always enjoyed the connection between two of my greatest interests in life: genealogy and church history. I wrote an article about that which is posted here. For more on the Wyatt family see this thread. For more on my Virginia ancestry see this thread. I guess the love of history is in my blood.


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