that his Majesty was the author of Εἰκὼν Βασιλική’ (London, 1693; another edit. 1697, 8vo; Wagstaffe published ‘A Defence of the Vindication’ in 1699, 4to), and his ‘Present State of Jacobitism in England’ (1701?), in answer to Bishop Burnet, who had advised the nonjurors to end their troubles by taking the oaths. To this Wagstaffe ironically rejoins that it was ‘a kindness with the utmost unkindness in the belly thereof,’ and goes on to contrast the severity with which the nonjurors were treated with the comparative leniency of Cromwell under the Commonwealth, or even of Elizabeth, towards those who held to the unreformed religion. Burnet replied in ‘The Present State of Jacobitism in England. The Second Part’ (1702, 4to). Wagstaffe's learning included ritual; some manuscript notes on the subject by him are appended to a copy of the ‘Sarum Ordinale’ in the British Museum. His other pamphlets included ‘A Letter to the Author of a late Letter out of the Country occasioned by a former Letter to a Member of the House of Commons concerning the Bishops lately in the Tower and now under Suspension’ (1690? 4to); ‘An Answer to a late Pamphlet entitled “Obedience and Submission to the present Government demonstrated from Bishop Overall's ‘Convocation Book,’” with a postscript in answer to Dr. Sherlock's “Case of Allegiance,”’ London, 1692; ‘An Answer to Dr. Sherlock's “Vindication of the Case of Allegiance due to Sovereign Powers” made in Reply to an Answer to a late Pamphlet entitled “Obedience and Submission to the present Government demonstrated from Bishop Overall's ‘Convocation Book,”’ with a postscript in answer to Dr. Sherlock's “Case of Allegiance,”’ London, 1692; ‘An Answer to a Letter of Dr. Sherlock written in Vindication of that part of Josephus's “History” which gives the Account of Jaddas' Submission to Alexander, in answer to the piece entitled “Obedience and Submission to the present Government”’ (1691, 4to); ‘Remarks on some late Sermons, and in particular on Dr. Sherlock's Sermon at the Temple, December the 30th, 1694, in a Letter to a Friend’ (1695, 4to); ‘A Letter to a Gentleman elected a Knight of the Shire to serve in the present Parliament,’ London, 1694; ‘An Account of the Proceedings in Parliament in relation to the Recoining of Clipped Money,’ London, 1696 (1696, 4to; another edit. 1697–8; a proclamation was issued in 1696 by the king for the discovery of the author of the pamphlet, which was published anonymously). He had a fine library, which was sold in London by Fletcher Gyles in 1713.
Wagstaffe married Martha Broughton, by whom he had four sons and five daughters. His first-born son died in infancy. One of his daughters married Dr. William Wagstaffe, before mentioned.
The second son, Thomas Wagstaffe (1692–1770), was, like his father, a prominent nonjuror. He was born, shortly after his father's deprivation, in 1692. About 1713 he was a frequent correspondent with Hearne at Oxford, and seems to have visited him there. At that time he was closely associated with Hickes and Hilkiah Bedford [q. v.] in London, where his writings were published as late as 1725. In 1718 he was ordained deacon by Jeremy Collier, one of the nonjurors' bishops, and, by the same, priest in the following year. The ordinations took place in the chapel of Richard Lawrence, afterwards also a nonjurors' bishop, the author of ‘Lay Baptism Invalid,’ on College Hill, in the city of London. At that time Wagstaffe was keeper of the nonjurors' church registers, as appears from a manuscript note signed by the principal nonjurors in a copy of their prayer-book in the library of Sion College. It is uncertain when he went to Rome, but apparently he was there some time before 1738, and had been engaged in collating manuscripts in the Vatican and Barberini libraries. In the library of Sion College is treasured one result of his labours, thus described by its donor, the Rev. J. Berriman: ‘In the year 1738 I obtained from ye very learned Mr. Thomas Wagstaffe yn at Rome, a more particular Acct of ye Greek MSS. of St. Paul's Epistles in ye Vatican Library and that of Cardinal Barbarini yn had been ever before communicated to the world. Mr. Wagstaffe had for some time free access to ye Vatican & ye Liberty of collecting MSS.’ The donor received this manuscript through the hands of Dr. Bedford, son of Hilkiah Bedford. While at Rome Wagstaffe held the office of Anglican chaplain to the Chevalier St. George, and to his son, Charles Edward. The Scottish Jacobites were hopeful that he would be able to convert the latter and so strengthen their cause. He seems to have been consulted by Charles Edward, who writes thus to his father from Perth, 10 Sept. 1745: ‘I must not close this letter without doing justice to your Majesty's Protestant subjects, who, I found, are as zealous in your cause as the Roman Catholics, which is what Dr. Wagstaffe often told me I should find them.’ Again, eleven days later, and after the battle of Prestonpans: ‘I remember Dr. Wagstaffe (with whom I wish I had conversed more frequently, for he always told me the truth) once said that I must not
