Thomas Sharp (priest)

Thomas Sharp (1693–1758) was an English churchman, known as a biographer and theological writer, archdeacon of Northumberland from 1723.

A younger son of John Sharp, archbishop of York, he was born on 12 December 1693. At the age of 15 he was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1712, M.A. in 1716, and was elected to a fellowship.

Sharp became chaplain to Archbishop William Dawes, a prebendary of Southwell Minster, and a member of the Gentlemen's Society at Spalding. He was also prebendary of Wistow in York Minster (29 April 1719), appointed rector of Rothbury, Northumberland in 1720, and collated archdeacon of Northumberland on 27 February 1722/3. He was created D.D. at Cambridge in 1729. On 1 December 1732 he was installed in the tenth prebend of Durham Cathedral at Durham, and in 1755 he succeeded Thomas Mangey as official to the dean and chapter of the cathedral.

Sharp died at Durham on 16 March 1758, and was buried at the west end of the cathedral in the chapel called the Galilee.

His main works were:

A collected edition of Sharp's Works appeared in 1763; his correspondence with Mrs. Catherine Cockburn on moral virtue and moral obligation was published in 1743.

Sharp married, on 19 June 1722, Judith, daughter of Sir George Wheler (she died on 2 July 1757), and had fourteen children. His eldest son, John Sharp, D.D., was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, became a prebendary of Durham, archdeacon of Northumberland, vicar of Hartborne, perpetual curate of Bamburgh, and senior trustee of the estates of Nathaniel Crewe, bishop of Durham; and died on 28 April 1792. His ninth son was Granville Sharp, and another son, William, was known as a surgeon.

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