In England in the early 1800s religious persecution still occurred. Not only did everyone have to support the Church of England (Anglican) with their taxes [similarly in Scotland everyone’s taxes supported the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian)] – that’s what the first amendment’s prohibition of the “establishment of religion” is all about — but “dissenters” (such as Baptists and Quakers) were bared from holding public office. Which inspired Article 6 of the Constitution’s clause “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office.”
Our Campbells were of course Presbyterian; the Luggs and Clinches apparently were Anglican; but many of the Blackwells were Baptist. One even held a minor local office, in spite of that being illegal.
The landed gentry monopolizes social status — and political power. Which is why John Blackwell (1734 – 1824), the ancestor of “our” Blackwells, was so proud of having prospered enough to buy an estate near Avening that he started signing his name “John Blackwell, Gentleman.” Which inspired many genealogists to refer to him as “John ‘Gentleman’ Blackwell.”
Comments:
Cheryl Horton Source – “Thank you I have always wondered about the gentleman/”
Betty Philips – “Me too. Thank you so much for all this history.
Reply from William Thompson – “You’re welcome. One way to think about his adding “Gentleman” to his signature was that he was proudly proclaiming his entry into the “gentry.”