View source for Thomas Gerard (historian)

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Thomas Gerard's memorial to his wife - Trent - geograph.org.uk - 1418578.jpg|thumb|Thomas Gerard's memorial to his wife, St Andrew's Church, Trent, Dorset]]
'''Thomas Gerard''' (1593–1634), [[lord of the manor]] of [[Trent, Dorset|Trent]] in Somerset (now in Dorset), was an [[antiquary]] and historian of the county of [[Dorset]] and is the author of ''"Coker's" Survey of Dorsetshire''.

==Career==
He was born at Trent, in Somerset, in 1593 and was educated at Gloucester Hall, Oxford.<ref name=D>Dorset Ancestors</ref>

===Country historian===
He was the first "county historian" of Dorset, but his work has traditionally been attributed to the clergyman [[John Coker (clergyman)|John Coker]], hence known as "Coker's Survey of Dorsetshire".<ref name=D /> He thus joined other "county historians" who made an appearance during his era, such as Sir [[William Pole (antiquary)|William Pole]] (d.1635) and [[Tristram Risdon]] (d.1640) of Devon, [[William Burton (antiquary, died 1645)|William Burton]] (d.1645) of Leicestershire (a friend of his<ref name=D />), etc., and most notably [[William Camden]] (d.1623).

===Publications===
*''"Coker's" Survey of Dorsetshire, Containing the Antiquities and Natural History of that County'', published posthumously in 1732. It was relied on heavily by John Hutchins for his ''History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset''. 
*''Particular Description of Somerset'', unfinished work.

==Marriage and children==
In 1618<ref name=D /> he married Ann Coker (1603-1633), a daughter of Robert Coker<ref name=T>Text on monument in St Andrew's Church, Trent</ref> of [[Mappowder]] in Dorset. She died in childbirth on 25 June 1633, aged 29 years, 10 months and 7 days, as her monument in St Andrew's Church, Trent states.<ref name=T /> By Ann he had children including:
*Ann Gerard, who in 1646 married Col. [[Sir Francis Wyndham, 1st Baronet]] (c.1612-1676), of the prominent Wyndham family of [[Orchard Wyndham]] in Somerset, a colonel of horse in the [[Cavaliers|Royalist]] army during the [[English Civil War|Civil War]] who  helped the future King Charles II to escape to France. In 1651 Charles was given refuge at the manor house of Trent, on his way to the port of [[Bridport]] in Dorset and thence to exile in France.<ref name=D />

==Sources==
*''Thomas Gerard of Trent'', 2011 article, ''Dorset Ancestors'' website [https://dorset-ancestors.com/?p=1691]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard, Thomas}}
[[Category:17th-century English historians]]
[[Category:English antiquarians]]
[[Category:1593 births]]
[[Category:1634 deaths]]
[[Category:History of Dorset]]