22 June 2019

Rev. Robert Craighead (1633-1711)

When Rev. Robert Craighead was born in 1633 in Scotland, his father, Thomas, was 26 and his mother, Janet, was 33. He married Margaret Agnes Hart in 1658. They had three children in 12 years. He died on August 22, 1711, having lived a long life of 78 years.

The Scottish National Covenant of 1638
When King Charles attempted to apply tighter control over Scotland by giving the reins of the country to Scottish bishops of the Church of England, the people of Scotland responded with a unified message that became known as the National Covenant. The document was a statement of religious conservatism first signed in Edinburgh on February 28, 1638. The document made its way around Edinburgh, and then copies were sent to the lowlands and highlands regions. Nobles and commoners joined forces as they signed this protest document, arguing that Charles I was too powerful within the Church of England. Those who signed the Covenant believed that only Jesus Christ was the true leader of the Church of England, and no king could replace the son of God. The National Covenant led to increasing discord between Scottish leaders and the English crown, culminating in the Second Bishops War of 1639–1640.

One of Rev. Robert  Craighead's family members lived in Scotland at a time when the Scottish people expressed religious unity through the National Covenant: Margaret Agnes Hart (1636–1702). In addition to its religious purpose, the Covenant called for a free General Assembly and a free Scottish Parliament. In 1649 after Oliver Cromwell and his New Model Army pushed for a trial, King Charles I was executed for high treason. Covenanters held secret meetings and feared being discovered by the English authorities after Charles II renounced the Covenant in 1662.

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