William Ames, (1576-1633) was born at Ipswich in Suffolk. He was educated in Christ's College, Cambridge, under William Perkins' teaching. In 1610 he fled to Holland to escape persecution for his Puritanism. Ames attended the Synod of Dort in 1618 where he served as an advisor to the Moderator. He later served as Professor of Theology at the University of Franeker from 1622-33. Ames contemplated moving to New England, but accepted an invitation to pastor an English Congregation in Rotterdam instead. He died of pneumonia in the fall of 1633 after the River Maas flooded his house. The Learned Doctor Ames authored several books including his famous “The Marrow of Theology” (1627) and his "Conscience, with the Power and Cases Thereof” (1630).