Isaac Archer (1641-1700), the son of William (1609-1670) and Mary Archer (d. 1649), was born in north Suffolk, but moved to Essex early in his life. In 1653 he was sent to board at Halstead school. At first William Archer opposed Isaac's receiving a university education, probably on the grounds of cost. As a result, he was apprenticed to a linen draper in London, before his father terminated the apprenticeship because of the expense. The intervention of Henry Dearsly, a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, persuaded William Archer to allow his son to enter Trinity. Dearsly helped Isaac when his father later refused to provide him with further maintenance. After his studies Archer took holy orders in the Church of England and served as a minister in Cambridgeshire and later Suffolk. In 1667 he married Anne Peachy (1643-1698), daughter of Roger Peachy, Vicar of Isleham. He married his second wife Elizabeth (d. 1700) in 1699.
From the guide to the Isaac Archer: Diary, 1659-1700, (Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives)
