Egerton, Sir Thomas, an illegitimate son of Sir Richard Egerton of Ridley ; was born in Cheshire, 1540; entered Brasenose College, Oxford, 1556 ; Lincoln's Inn, October 31, 1560 ; called to the bar, February 2, 1572 ; solicitor-general, June 28, 1581 ; Lent reader, 1582 ; attorney- general, June 2, 1592 ; knighted 1593 ; master of the rolls, April 10, 1594 ; Lord Keeper of the Great Seal and member of the Privy Coun- cil, May 6, 1596. (His son Thomas was knighted by Essex on the Island voyage, 1597.) He was charged with the custody of Essex, 1599 ; I5aron of EUesmere by James I., July 19, 1603; lord chancellor, July 24, 1603 ; Chancellor of Oxford University, No- vember 3, 1610 ; member of the N. W. P. Co., 1612 ; Viscount Brackley, November 7, 1616; resigned the Great Seal, March 3, 1617. Died at York House, in the Strand, London, on March 15, 1617, and was buried at Doddleston, in Cheshire, the place of his birth. Lodge says, " It may not be too much to say that for purity of reputation this great man's character stands distinguished from those of all other public ministers of this country in all ages ; while for wisdom in council, profound knowledge of the laws, and general learning, he has seldom been excelled."
The Genesis of the United States v. 2 (Edgertons) by Alexander Brown
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