Dorcas Martin
Dorcas Martin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1537 England |
| Died | 1599-09-01 |
| Occupation(s) | Translator, bookseller |
| Known for | Translation of a catechism in The Monument of Matrones; involvement in radical Protestant movements |
Dorcas Martin (1537–1599), born Eccleston, Ecclestone or Eglestone, was an English translator and bookseller.
Life
Dorcas was the daughter of John Eccleston, a London Grocer who passed away in 1551. Her brother, John Eccleston, inherited property located in All Hallows Honey Lane from their father. This John later pursued a career as a Goldsmith and transferred ownership of the property in 1562.
Prior to 1562, Dorcas married Richard Martin, a goldsmith who would go on to serve twice as Lord Mayor of London. Together, they had six children: five sons and one daughter. In 1573, Dorcas held the license for the publication of Thomas Cartwright's A replye to An answere made of M. doctor Whitgifte, which was a rebuttal to John Whitgift's criticism of Presbyterianism. She also translated a catechism designed for mothers and children, which appeared in Thomas Bentley's The Monument of Matrones (1582), recognized as the first anthology featuring English women's writings. Both Dorcas and her husband were deeply involved in radical Protestant movements, notably the Admonition Controversy, pushing for further religious reforms within England. Her epitaph records her death on 1 September 1599.
Following her passing, her brother John Eccleston—an esteemed Goldsmith—incurred debts to Sir Richard Martin and was subsequently confined in Ludgate Prison. To gain his freedom, he conveyed the title of the priory manor of Elsham to Puritan minister Anthony Earbury. In 1608, Sir Richard initiated legal action against Earbury to recover the outstanding debts; Eccleston was returned to prison where he eventually died, while Martin succeeded in reclaiming £200.
Dorcas’s son Captain John Martin captained the Benjamin during Drake’s expeditions (1585–86). He married Mary Brandon, daughter of Robert Brandon who served as Chamberlain of London, in 1586. He later became a Councilman of the Jamestown Colony in 1607 and owned Martin's Brandon Plantation along the James River. Another son, Richard (died 1616), collaborated with his father as a master-worker at the mint between 1599 and 1607. Her daughter Dorcas became the wife of Sir Julius Caesar, who held prominent positions including Chancellor of the Exchequer and Master of the Rolls under King James I.
A silver portrait medallion dating from 1562 by Steven van Herwijck features both Dorcas and Richard Martin and is preserved at the British Museum. The reverse side bears the inscription "DORCAS EGLESTONE VX RICHARD MARTIN ÆT 25," indicating Dorcas Eglestone as Richard Martin’s wife at age twenty-five.
Further reading
- White, Michelline. "Power Couples and Women Writers in Elizabethan England: the Public Voices of Dorcas and Richard Martin and Anne and Hugh Dowriche." In Framing the Family: Representation and Narrative in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods, edited by Diane Wolfthal and Rosalynn Voaden. Tempe Ariz.: Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 2005, pp. 119–38.