This section begins with my closest family members, and then works out.

Closest Family Members:

Pastor Matthew Ryan O'Rear (1987 - ) Effort Baptist Church

My Son

Wycliffe Missionary Paul Andrew O'Rear (1952 - )

My Brother

Methodist Minister Reverend Floyd Barrett O'Rear Jr. (1931 - 2019)

My Father

Methodist Minister Reverend Floyd Barrett O'Rear Sr. (1896 - 1978)

My Grandfather

Itinerant Preacher Daniel Talbott O'Rear (1838 - 1870)

My Great Great Grandfather

Here are some other pastors in our lineage. When I found some pertinent biographical information I added it.

Reverend John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury

My 13th Great Granduncle

1530-1604

Reign served: Elizabeth I

My Lineage:

Grace Alice Sherrow / Lillie May Stokes / Margaret Malicoat / James Malicoat / William Malicoat / Ellender Dedman / Mary Elizabeth Dixon / Lucy Ann Read / Thomas Reade / Colonel George Reade (Governor of Virginia and Founder of Yorktown) / Mildred Wildebank / Francis Demote / Sir Edward Demote / Robert Demoke / Sir Thomas Dymoke / James Demote / Katherine Fulnetby / Anne Dynewell / John Whitgift

Who he was

John Whitgift was a leading English churchman in the late Tudor period, best known for:

serving as the last Archbishop of Canterbury under Queen Elizabeth I,

defending the Elizabethan Religious Settlement,

and forcefully opposing Puritan reforms.

Early Life & Education

Born: c. 1530 in Grimsley, Lincolnshire.

Educated at Pembroke College and later Peterhouse, Cambridge.

Became a prominent academic and later Master of Trinity College.

He was strongly aligned with the emerging Anglican via media (middle way between Catholicism and Protestantism).

Career Before Becoming Archbishop

1570s: Became Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge.

1571: Appointed Bishop of Worcester.

Known for his strict enforcement of church discipline.

Earned Queen Elizabeth’s trust for defending her religious settlement.

Archbishop of Canterbury (1583–1604)

As Archbishop, he focused on three main areas:

1. Suppression of Puritanism

Whitgift is most famous for his hardline stance against the Puritan movement:

Required clergy to subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles.

Used the Court of High Commission to enforce conformity.

Clashed with Puritan theologians such as Thomas Cartwright.

He believed Puritan reforms threatened the unity of both church and monarchy.

2. Strengthening Episcopal Authority

He expanded the powers of bishops and defended the governance structure of the Church of England as divinely ordained.

3. Service to the Monarchy

Elizabeth I relied on Whitgift as a loyal supporter:

He was one of her closest religious advisors.

He played diplomatic roles, including dealing with Catholic tensions and political threats.

Death

Whitgift died February 29, 1604, shortly after the accession of James I.

He is buried in Croydon Minster, where his tomb is still visible.

Historical Importance

John Whitgift is remembered as:

The architect and protector of Elizabethan Anglicanism

The chief opponent of Puritan reforms

A stabilizing force during a turbulent religious era

One of the longest-serving Archbishops of Canterbury

He solidified the structure of the Church of England that persists today.

Rev. Margaret Elizabeth Bee
My great-grandaunt
1898 - 1959

Pastor of the Saugus United Methodist Church in Lynn, Massachusetts for 26 years. During her pastorate, she was listed as the only woman in the New England Methodist Conference Clergy roles. Graduate of Boston University in Religious Studies in 1923.

Rev. Thomas William Harrison Sr
My 4th great-grandfather
1750 - 1815

Rev. Edward Eells Sr
My 6th great-grandfather
1713 - 1776

Graduate of Harvard College, and pastor in Cromwell, Ct.


Rev. Nathaniel Eells Sr.
My 7th great-grandfather
1677 - 1750

Graduate of Harvard College, and pastor in Scituate, Mass.

Rev. John Hoskins Jr.
My 8th great-grandfather
1566 - 1638

Member of Parliment in 1604 and 1614. Imprisoned in the Tower of London for a speech

The Rev. John I Cave, Rector of Pickwell
My 9th great-grandfather
1590 - 1657

Rev. John Robert White
My 9th great-granduncle
1569 - 1615

Rev. Robert Jordan
My 9th great-grandfather
1557 - 1589

Rev. Dr. Calybute Downing
My 10th great-grandfather
1574 - 1642

Puritan pastor and member of Westminster Assembly and one of the translators working on the King James Bible

Rev. John Sotwell Vicar of Penniston
My 10th great-grandfather
1520 - 1574

Rev. Robert Wight
My 0th great-grandfather
1570 - 1618

Rev. Thomas Howell / Houl / Howland / Holland I
My 10th great-grandfather
1599 - 1710

Rev. Sir Richard H. Jones, Merchant of London
My 10th great-grandfather
1608 - 1685

Pastor of Brandon Parish in Charles City Virginia, one of the earliest parishes in Virginia and America

Rev. Robert Lenthall
My 10th great-grandfather
1565 - 1640

Invited to the Massachusetts Bay Colony to become pastor of Weymouth congregation.

William Brewster
My 11th great-grandfather
1568-1644

Mayflower passenger and spiritual leader of the pilgrims at Plymouth. Attended Oxford University (the only Mayflower passenger with such an education).

Rev. William (Rector St. Davids) Meyrick
My 11th great-grandfather
1546 - 1596

Anglican clergyman from Wales; son John emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony

Rev. Sir Robert Bathurst I of Clayhill
My 11th great-grandfather
1563 - 1623

Rev. Thomas Cole
My 11th great-grandfather
1515 - 1571 Prominent English Protestant clergyman who graduated from Oxford University; contributor to the English reformation

Rev. John Rogers
My 11th great-grandfather
1500 - 1565

Attended Cambridge University; English clergyman and Protestant martyr. Editor of the "Matthew Bible" in 1537. Was arrested by Queen Mary I and burned at the stake in 1565.

Rev. William Clark Pratt III
My 11th great-grandfather
1562 - 1629

Rector of Stevenage parish in England for over 30 years


Rev. Dr. Edward Bulkekey
My 11th great-grandfather
1540 - 1620

Rector of Odell, Cambridge Alumni, John Hancock ancestor

Rev. John Thomas Crowe
My 11th great-grandfather
1594 - 1686

Anglican clergyman born in Waterford, Ireland; emigrated to Essex County Virgina, becoming a prominent figure in the early colonial Anglican Church.

Pastor Johannes Göbtfried
My 12th great-grandfather
1594 - 1661

Rev. John Holland
My 12th great-grandfather
1522 - 1578

Ordained as a priest in the Church of England; part of the cohort of English clergy who upheld their protestant beliefs during Queen Mary I.


Rev. Henry Thomas Squire
My 12th great-grandfather
1520 - 1567

Parish priest of Charleston Mackrell; direct ancestor of Presidents Millard Fillmore and William Howard Taft


Rev. Richard Waltham Ball
My 12th great-grandfather
1602 - 1684

Rev. Josse Glover
My 12th great-grandfather
1602 - 1638

Rector of St. Nicholas Church 1624-1636, known for his nonconformist views; Died during emigration to the Massachusetts Bay Colony while bringing the first printing press to America; His widow continued his mission and assisted in the founding of Harvard College

Pastor John Robinson, pastor to the pilgrims
12th great-grandfather
1576-1625

Spiritual leader of the Mayflower congregation at Leiden prior to the sailing to America. He was a pivotal figure in American religious history; was a leading voice in the Separatist movement, which advocated for a church independent of the Church of England leading to the passage to America.

Rev. James Balfour
My 12th great-grandfather
1544 - 1613

Minister of Guthrie, Forfarshire. 1566, Minister of St Giles; He was a prominent Scottish minister during the reformation era and had conflicts with King James VI over control of the Church of Scotland

Rev. Francis Morrice Johnson
My 13th great-grandfather
1524 - 1616

English clergyman connected to the Church of England


Rev. Maurice Morris Johnson, Esquire
My 13th great-grandfather
1500 - 1557

English clergyman and civic leader in Stamford, Lincolnshire, serving as Constable, Chamberlain and Mayor as as well as serving in Parliment.


Rev. Capt. John William 'The Immigrant" De Basse
My 13th great-grandfather
1616 - 1699

Early colonist who married the daughter of an Indian Chieftain's daughter. Married Elizabeth Keziah Tucker, daughter of the King of the Nansemond Nation

Rev. John McFadden Thompson
My 13th great-grandfather
1687 - 1753

Rev. Mitchell (Michael) Matchett
My 13th great-grandfather
1578 - 1615

Rev. Ellis Callender
My 14th great-grandfather
1640 - 1728

Ordained in 1708 as the Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Boston, holding the position for 10 years.

Rev. Walter (Botanist) Stonehouse
My 15th great-grandfather
1588 - 1610

Rev. Robert Kinnaird Bruce
My 15th great-granduncle
1554 - 1631

Prominent Scottish Presbyterian minister, theologian and preacher who was pivotal during the Reformation of Scotland period. Excited by King James VI to Inverness.

Rev. James Thurston Attorney
My 17th great-grandfather
1426 - 1509