Persecution of Catholics and Use of Aliases By Priests
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In reply to:
Re: Huddleston alias Hurleston Calendar of State Papers : Domestic: James I
Mary Thompson 4/04/04
I realize that this is an exceptionally old thread and perhaps all HUDDLESTONs have since come to understand the necessity of using aliases.But for anyone actually unfamiliar with the practice, one needs to realize that during this period it was ILLEGAL to be a priest in England.
If one was caught and found to be a priest, this was a capital offense and the priest was subject to being hanged, drawn and quartered.Typically, after being first hanged, the priest was cut down before he was dead so that he could observe himself being disemboweled.
While there were periods when the monarch showed some leniency and even pardoned those captured, and particularly Charles I as a consequence of having a Catholic wife, all Catholic worship was relegated to private homes where the priests were secreted.
The HUDDLESTON family was a leading Catholic family, furnishing several priests and nuns to English Catholic religious orders.Sometimes, when a priest was accepted into the Catholic college, he did so under an assumed name.This was for the protection of both the priest, as well as his family.The true identities are almost ALL known, since each prospective priest typically was required to answer written interrogatories explaining his background and his religious convictions, etc.These were necessary to protect against the priest catchers who sought to insinuate themselves into the religious orders to discover the priests in hiding.
The Elizabeth VAUX shown within the State Papers in respect of the Gunpowder Plot was Elizabeth Roper, VAUX, widow of George VAUX, and daughter of John ROPER, Lord Teynham.
When Guy FAWKES was captured (using an alias), the means by which his true identity was discovered was that he was carrying a letter from Elizabeth VAUX addressed to him as "Guy FAWKES" (his correct name).
The Henry HUDDLESTON mentioned in respect of the Gunpowder Plot seems to have later married Dorothy, daughter of Robert, 1st Lord DORMER.
Later, Christopher ROPER, 2nd Lord Teynham, was guardian of Henry HUDDLESTON, son of Sir Edmund HUDDLESTON.Christopher ROPER's daughter Brigit ROPER married Sir Robert HUDDLESTON, the son of a Henry HUDDLESTON (d 1617).
Father John HUDDLESTON (b 1597 - London, d 17 May 1661), alias Father DORMER, was the son of Henry HUDDLESTON and Dorothy DORMER.From what I am now gathering, Sir Robert HUDDLESTON was the eldest of Henry HUDDLESTON's four sons and a Henry HUDDLESTON was next.
If I understand correctly, Sir Robert HUDDLESTON and Brigit Roper HUDDLESTON (d 1641) were predeceased by their only son.The estate of Sawston therefore passed to his nephew, a son of Henry HUDDLESTON (d 1657).
It seems most likely that the members of the HUDDLESTON family who first settled in Virginia were probably also fleeing religious persecution in England.