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- Perpetual Vicar of Poughill CON from 1623 to 1652.
In 1641, John, together with sons Alexander and Phillip, signed a document known as the Protestation.
During the spring of 1641 there was great unrest in Parliament with discord between the House of Commons and the Lords, and plots and sub-plots against both the King and Parliament itself. In May 1641 Parliament agreed upon the following Protestation Oath:
'I do, in the presence of Almighty God, promise, vow and protest to maintain and defend, as far as lawfully I may, with my Life, Power and Estate, the true reformed Protestant Religion, expressed in the Doctrines of the Church of England, against all Popery and Popish Innovations, within the Realm, contrary to the same Doctrines, and according to the Duty of my Allegiance, His Majesties Royal Person, Honour and Estate, as also the Power and Privileges of Parliaments, the Lawful Rights and Liberties of the Subjects, and every person that maketh this Protestation, in whatsoever he shall do in the lawful Pursuance of the same; and to my power, and as far as lawfully I may, I will oppose and by all good ways and means endeavour to bring to condign punishment all such as shall, either by Force, Practice, Counsels, Plots, Conspiracies, or otherwise, do any Thing to the contrary of any Thing in this present Protestation contained; and further, that I shall in all just and honourable ways, endeavour to preserve the Union and Peace betwixt the three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland; and neither for Hope, Fear nor any other Respect shall relinquish this Promise, Vow and Protestation.'
On the 6th May,1641 a Bill was introduced into the House of Commons imposing the signing of the Protestation on all Englishmen of 18 years and above. All who refused to sign were deemed unfit to hold office in Church or Commonwealth. At the end of February or the beginning of March 1641 priests read out the Protestation in the parish churches. The parishioners then signed or made their mark before him, and the other officials, who testified that the oath had been taken, or refused.
There follows a list of names of signatories. These include many names that subsequently appear in the family, such as Pudner, Uglow, Grenaway, and Barnard and Timothy Davye (signatories of the will). The three Cornish names are "John Cornish, Vicar", Phillip Cornish and Alexander Cornish.
ref: Cornwall Online Parish Clerks website, http://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/
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