Greatrakes, Valentine a famous English thaumaturgist, was born at Affane, County Waterford, Ireland, February 14, 1628; At the age of thirteen he was obliged, on account of the civil troubles, to leave the College of Dublin, and take refuge with his mother in England. Some time later he fought in Ireland against the royalists, and after the disbanding of his regiment, in 1656, retired to a quiet life. He now imagined that he had received from above the power of curing the sick, which he actually proved in several cases by simply laying on his hands. This, however, drew upon him the attention of the local authorities, and being summoned before the bishop of Lismore. he was condemned, and had to abstain from his pretensions. He was afterwards called to England, where the countess Conway was afflicted by a disease which he cured. He was then called to London, where he went about daily professing to cure invalids. He excited the jealousy of the physicians, who began to write pamphlets against him, but Greatrakes did not hesitate to refer even to members of the court. He died in Ireland about 1700. See Chalmers, Biog. Dict. s.v.; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More