Sir Thomas Barrington, 2nd Baronet

Sir Thomas Barrington, 2nd Baronet, 1585 to 18 September 1644, was an English politician and Puritan activist who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1644. In the early stages of the First English Civil War, he helped establish the Eastern Association, one of the most effective elements of the Parliamentarian army. 
Personal details.
Thomas Barrington was born in 1585, eldest son of Sir Francis Barrington of Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex (1560-1628) and Joan Cromwell (c.1568-1641), aunt to the future Parliamentarian leaders Oliver Cromwell and John Hampden. One of nine surviving children, he had three brothers; Robert (?-1642), Francis (?-before 1628) and John (?-1631), who died in the Netherlands during the Eighty Years War. 
Of his five sisters, Elizabeth was married to Sir William Masham, and Mary to Sir Gilbert Gerard, Winifred to Sir William Meux. All three of his brothers-in-law were MPs, as were his father and brother Thomas, making the Barrington family part of a network of Puritan activists. 
In 1611, he married Frances Gobert (died 1623); they had three surviving children, Lucy, John (1615-1683) and Gobert (before 1623-c.1695). He married again in 1624, this time to Judith Lytton (c.1592-1657); they had no children before his death in 1644. 
Career.
One of the wealthiest members of the Essex gentry, Sir Francis and his wife Joan were devout Puritans, as was Barrington himself. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge in 1601; as legal training was then considered an essential part of education, he studied law at Gray's Inn in 1602. 
who dominated the [[Parliament of England|Parliamentary opposition 
was the son of [[Sir Francis Barrington, 1st Baronet]] and his wife Joan Cromwell, eldest daughter of Sir [[Henry Williams (alias Cromwell)|Henry Cromwell]]. He was knighted at about 1621. In 1621 Barrington was elected [[Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Newtown (UK Parliament constituency)|Newtown]]. He was re-elected for the constituency in 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. In 1628, he succeeded to the [[Barrington baronets|baronetcy]] on the death of his father.
Barrington has been identified as part of the so-called "Middle Group" within Parliament, led by Pym until his death in December 1643, then by [[Oliver St John]]. Unlike the "War" or "Peace" factions, these MPs did not vote consistently, but they were prominent in persuading Parliament to approve the [[Solemn League and Covenant]], an alliance with the Scots [[Covenanters]]. 
Sources.
 
[[Category:1585 births]]
[[Category:1644 deaths]]
[[Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of England]]
[[Category:English MPs 1621–1622]]
[[Category:English MPs 1624–1625]]
[[Category:English MPs 1625]]
[[Category:English MPs 1626]]
[[Category:English MPs 1628–1629]]
[[Category:English MPs 1640 (April)]]
[[Category:English MPs 1640–1648]]
[[Category:Deputy Lieutenants of Essex]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Lay members of the Westminster Assembly]]
[[Category:Roundheads]]
[[Category:Members of Gray's Inn]]