Archive:The Ancestry of John Whitney, Chapter V, Part 2
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Melville, Henry, A.M., LL.B., The Ancestry of John Whitney: Who, with His Wife Elinor, and Sons John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Jonathan, Emigrated from London, England, in the Year 1635, and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts; the First of the Name in America, and the One from Whom a Great Majority of the Whitneys Now Living in the United States Are Descended (New York, NY: The De Vinne Press, 1896).
130 The Ancestry of John Whitney Of James Whitney the elder, comparatively little is known. He may have died too young to have achieved public position. There is, however, one record that probably refers to him, though some have connected it with his son, James, Jr. Henry VIII. began his reign, so distinguished for extraordinary events, in 1509. In his twelfth year, 1520, the country was thrown into great excitement by the arrest of Edward, Duke of Buckingham, un- der a charge of treason, followed by his conviction and execution on May 17, 1521. The Duke had been one of the most influential and wealthy men in Eng- land, owning vast estates in eleven English coun- ties, to say nothing of possessions almost equally great in Wales. Upon his arrest all these were Se- questered and placed in the hands of those who happened at the time to stand highest in royal favor. Next after his Castle of Thornburg in value was his Borough of Newport in the Marches, "with its haven full of shipping and a proper Castle with three towers close to the water's edge, the middlest tower having a vault or entry to receive into the said Cas- tle a good vessel." This, in the distribution, fell to "James Whitney." There is, among the state papers, a record of a letter, written January 20, 1521-22, by John Daunce and John Hales, the King's General Surveyors, to "Jas. Whitney, Receiver of the lordship of Newport in the Marches of Wales, or to Thomas ap Morgan, his deputy." A little later, as we shall see, both his sons, Robert and James, Jr., were appointed to similar offices. There is no information obtainable as to whether they found them profitable, but contemporary "Re-
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 131 ceivers" were reputed to have acquired fortunes thereby. As this James, Jr., became a man of some promi- nence in public affairs, it will be well to devote a lit- tle space to him before telling the story of his elder brother Robert. In 1516, at the Court of Henry VIII., among the "Names of the King's Officers and Servants, sworn to attend in his Chamber" as "Sewers for the Cham- ber ordinary," are mentioned: "Roger Banbrigge, Jas. Whitney, Anth. Isley, James Hill, John Barney and Ric. Gifford."1 From this we can be certain that he was a young man of superior personal appearance, for Henry was noted for having none but large and handsome men about him. He seems to have been appreciated to a remarkable degree, for, as appears from the following, he was fairly loaded with honors. By Patent Roll, Privy Seals, p.1, m. 19, in Record Office, under date of 21 Henry VIII., March 12, 1530, "Jas. Wytteney, one of the Sewers of the Chamber," was commissioned "Receiver General of the lordships of Uske, Kererlion and Tryllok, parcel of the Earl- dom of March in South Wales; Constable of the lordship of Tregruk; Beadle and Coroner of Edle- gon; and Receiver of the lordships of Newport, Wen- loge and Mayhen, in the Marches of South Wales," vice Thomas ap Robert, deceased. It further appears, by Patent of February 4, 29 1 Royal MSS. 7 F. xiv., No.100, in British Museum.
132 The Ancestry of John Whitney Henry VIII. (1538), p.3, m 38d, that "Henry, Earl of Worcester, Charles Herbert, James Whitney, Ric. Gold- smyth and William ap John ap Evan"1 were ap- pointed commissioners to make Inquisition Post Mortem, in the lordship of Carlyan, in Netherwene, South Wales, on the lands and heir of Thos. Bowles. On the 23d of the following month Whitney was granted an annuity of £15 per annum, issuing from the manors of Carlishelton, in Marches of South Wales, late of "Wm. Griffith, deceased, in the King's hands by the minority of George and Ann, children and heir's of the said Wm., with wardship and mar- riage of said heirs." He made his residence at Troy, in Monmouthshire, quite likely with his stepfather, and died there, un- married, in 1544, leaving by will all his property to his half-brothers Charles and Thomas Herbert, whom he appointed executors.2 Turning now to Robert Whitney, the elder brother, we find that he married Margaret, the daughter of Robert Wye of Gloucestershire, thus allying himself to one of the best families of that county, and took up his abode, quite likely before his father's death, in the manor-house, at Icomb. His name is mentioned in a great number of the state papers of the reign of Henry VIII., the follow- ing being the more important: In 15 Henry VIII. (July, 1523) an account was filed by the commissioners having in charge the confis- cated lands of the late Duke of Buckingham, who 1 William, son of John, son of Evan--the ordinary style of a Welsh name. This man's son would be known as ap William ap John. 2 Will dated May 23, 1544. Proved in Prerogative Court of Canter- bury, July 5, 1544.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 133 reported that they had placed the stewardship of "Breknoke, Hay and Huntington" in the hands of "Llewellyn ap Morgan, Hugh Mervyn, John Wal- bieff, Robt. Whyteney, Jas. and Roger Vaughn." Of Hay and Huntington, both close to the parish of Whitney, we have already spoken. Brecknock is thus described by J. S. Brewer, in his introduction to the calendar of the state papers of that reign, quoting from ancient writers: A very proper walled town, well builded, and as well paved, with many honest inhabitants in the same; enclosed on the west side thereof with the Castle, which is a good and strong hold, with all houses of offices and lodgings builded after the old fashion. The Castle had a hall, the roof of which was newly and costly made with pendants after a goodly fashion, and into the said Castle water was conveyed by a conduit. Adjoining was a forest and a great mere in length nigh three miles and in breadth a mile, well replenished with fish and specially with breames. In 16 Henry VIII. (May 2, 1524) "Rob. Wytney" was put in commission of the peace for Gloucester- shire, and continued to be a magistrate, as appears from more than a score of documents, for the rest of hi life, and as such took part, on several important occasions, in "Gaol Deliveries at Gloucester Castle." In 19 Henry VIII. (Nov.16, 1527) he was commis- sioned sheriff of Gloucestershire, and again Novem- ber 7, 1528, November 21, 1529, and November 11, 1530. The most interesting record, however, is in 1533, on the occasion of Henry's marriage With Anne Boleyn. "Additional," Manuscript, No. 21116 f. 48 in Brit-
134 The Ancestry of John Whitney
ish Museum, treating of this occasion, has the fol-
lowing:
The Appointment what number of officers and servitors
that shall attend upon the Queen's Grace, the Bishop and
ladies, sitting at the Queen's board in the Great Hall at
Westminster, the day of the coronation as followeth:
* * * * * * *
KNIGHTS OF THE BATH--Marquis of Dorset; earl of
Derby; lords Clifford, Fitzwater, Hastings, Mountegle and
Vaux; Mr. Parker, lord Morley's son; Mr. Wynsor, lord
Wynsor's son; John Mordant, lord Mordant's son; Fras.
Weston, Thomas Arundell, Mr. Corbet, Mr. Wyndham, John
Barkeley, John Haddelston, Ric. Verney of Penley, Thos.
Bonynges, Hen. Savile, John Germayne, Rob. Whitneye of
Gloucestershire, Geo. Fitzwilliams, John Tyndale.
It appears1 that six out of this number, including
Whitney, did not accept the honor of the highest
grade of knighthood thus offered to them.
What was his reason for declining we can only
conjecture. He may have been ill at the time and
unable to attend at court, or possibly, like many
other conscientious men in England, he thought the
marriage unlawful and therefore did not Care to
have any connection with it.
His declination must have been made with tact,
for he continued in favor, and on September 30,
1535, when the famous suppression of the religious
houses began, had granted to him a part of the in-
come arising from the property lately belonging to
the Monastery of Brewerne.
From his action with reference to the Church of
Rome, Henry, in 1536, found himself with a serious
1 Harleian Manuscript No. 41, f. 2.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 135
rebellion on his hands in Lincolnshire. The sup-
pression of it Was entrusted to the Earl of Derby,
and there is still in existence, at the Record Office, a
memorandum, in his handwriting, of "The names of
such noblemen and gentlemen as be appointed to at-
tend upon the King's person, in the army that was
being raised. Opposite each man's name is placed
the number of men he furnished, including
"Glouc. ROBT. WITNEY, 40."
Further along Whitney is mentioned in a list of
those to whom personal letters were to be written.
There is also in the Record Office a curious lot of
memoranda in the hand of Roland Lee, Bishop of
Coventry and Lichfield, made about the same time,
called "Remembrances." The sixth was
To remember the farm of Rolright, Co. Gloucester, be-
longing to the Monastery of Ensam Oxf. which Mr. Whitney
hath, that it would please Mr. Secretary to help Lewes, my
servant, to the same.
This means that he was going to write to the prime
minister, Cromwell, to try to get away from Whitney
a lease of some of the confiscated monastery lands,
doubtless, as most such things were in those days, a
matter of favor and a particularly profitable thing
for the holder. The attempt was unsuccessful, for
it appears that Robert had the land at the time of
his death.
He died in 1541, leaving a widow and nine children,
viz.: 1, Robert; 2, John; 3, Charles; 4, George; 5,
William; 6, James; 7, Richard; 8, Blanche; 9, Mary;
136 The Ancestry of John Whitney not counting two other acknowledged sons who wore illegitimate. His will was proved in the Prerogative's Court of Canterbury, and is still of record in Somerset House, London, as follows: THE LAST WILL OF ROBERT WHITNEY, Esquire, Dated 10 May 33d Henry VIII. [1541] Proved 11 June, 1541. (P. C. C. 30, Alenger) In dei nomine Amen. I, ROBERT WHITNEY of Icombe in the County of Glouc' Esquier being of hole mynde the Tenthe day of maye in the XXXIIId yere of the Raigne of oure soveraigne Lorde Kyng Henry the eight make my will and testament as herafter folowithe. Furste I bequethe my soule unto almightye god and my body to be buryed where god shall please. Also I bequethe to my sonne Robert my II best gownes and my best dublett and my bason and Ewer of sylver. And all the Resydue of my plate I gene and bequethe to Margaret my wyfe. Also I beqnethe to John my sonne when he comythe to thage of XXIIII yeres my lease and ferme of Rollrighte in the Countye of Oxforde withe the Indenture of the same remaynyng in my Caskett at Icombe aforsaide and at that age he to haue foure hundred yewes V oxen VIII kyne twoo horses or the price of them as they shalbe praysed in the Inventarye and in the meanetyme till he come to the saide age XXIIII yeres my wyfe to take the proffittes of the saide ferme. Also I bequeathe to my sonne Charles when he comythe to the age of XXIIII yeres my lease and ferme in Greate Ryssenton called Nylis wt the Indenture of the same re- maynyng in my Caskett at Icombe aforesaide and at that age foure hundred wethers or the price of them as they
ICOMB PLACE, VIEW LOOKING TOWARD THE WEST.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 137 shalbe praised in the Inventarye and in the meane tyme my wyfe to have the proffittes of the same ferme. Also I bequethe to my sonne George when he comythe to the age of XXIIII yeres my lease and ferme of Malgas- bury and three hundred shepe or the Valure thereof as they shalbe praised in the Inventarye and my wyffe to take the proffittes of the same ferme in the meane tyme tyll the saide George come to the saide age of XXIIII yeres. Also I bequethe to my sonne William when he comythe to the age of XXIIII yeres my lease and ferme called the Chauntery landes in Greate Ryssinton wt the Indenture of the same Remaynyng in my Caskett at Icombe aforesaide wt foure hundred wethers at that age or the price of them as they shalbe praysed in the Inventarye and in the meane tyme my wife to take the proffittes of the same ferme. Also I will if anny of my foresaide sonnes dye before the forsaide age to them lymitted and then the nexte young- est brother to haue his older next brother's legacy at the forsaide age Relingquisshing his legacye and porc'on be- fore to hym lymittide the whiche legacye and porcc'on shall remayne to his next yonngiste when he comythe to the for- saide age and so lynyally to Remayne to the one from the other. That is to say as well to them as yett not namyd as to the other beforenamyd. Also I bequethe to James my sonne twenty pounde. And also I bequethe to Rycharde my sonne twenty pounde. And if it happen eyther of them do dye before the age of XXIIII yeres that porc'on to hym before bequethide to be Voyde. And if it happen either of them to haue anny of theire brothern porc'ons before lymittide that then theyre former legacye to cease and be voyde. Also I geue and bequethe to my Danghter Blaunche to her maryage of II hundred markes Also I geue and be- quethe to my Daughter Mary to her maryage a hundred pounde. Also I geue to my twoo sonnes not legitimate the one called Anthony being at Icombe and the other called Charles
138 The Ancestry of John Whitney being wt Master Willis VI£ XIIIs IIIId apece and they to have theire legacy at the age of XVIII yeres or before at my wyfe's dyscretion. Also I will that my wyfe haue all monye goodes and Cattells that she hathe gotten to be her owen to her use. Item, I will that my sarun'tes haue meate and Dryncke tyll Midsomer and my olde sarun'tes at that tyme to haue XII monnethes wages. Further I will that wt the proffittes of my fermes my Childern that will abide withe my wyfe haue meate Dryncke and apparell after her discretion fur- ther I will that after my debtes legaces and funeralls borne that my wyfe haue all the rest of my goodes and cattills to her owen use whome I make my Soule Executrix. In the pn's of my father in lawe Robert Wye and Jane Wye his wife maisteris Jane Parker Thomas Marshall Rycharde Colter Davy Mer'yke and Thomas Marten. Item, the Resydue of myne apparell unbequethide I will that my wife geue it amonges my childern and sarun'tes after her discrec'on. Item, if ther be anny Doute in the saide testament I will that it be declared by the saide Robert Wye. Also I will that Margaret my wyfe shall haue all my landes in Icombe for terme of her lyfe." The will dealt only with personal property, as, by operation of law, all the real estate descended to the eldest son, Robert. John, the next in age, had an interesting history. Through the influence, doubtless, of his father and uncle James, he procured an appointment at court, apparently as a page, attendant upon the little prin- cess, daughter of Henry VIII. by Anne Boleyn, afterward Queen Elizabeth. There he became the "bedfelloe" of Roger Ascham, a brilliant young man, A. B. Cambridge, 1534, and A. M. 1536, who was act- ing as Elizabeth's tutor. The story of their friend-
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 139 ship is thus told by the latter in his "Ready Way to the Latin Tongue": And now take heede, lest your scholar do not better in some poynt than yourselfe, except ye have bene diligentlie exercised in those kindes of translating before. I had once a profe hereof, tried by good experience, by a deare frende of myne, when I came first from Cambridge, to serve the Queen's Majestie, then Ladie Elizabeth, lying at worthy Sir Anthony Deny's in Cheston. John Whitney, a yong gentleman, was my bed-felloe; who, willyng by good nature, and provoked by mine advice, begun to learn the Latin tonge after the order declared in this booke. We began after Christmas; I read unto him Tully de Amicitia, which he did every day twise translate, out of Latin into English, and out of English into Latin againe. About St. Laurence tide after to prove hew he profitted, I did chose out Torquatus' taulke de Amicitia, in the latter end of the first booke de Finibus; because that place was the same in matter, like in words and phrases, nigh to the form and faction of sentences, as he had learned before in de Amicitia. I did translate it myself into plaine English, and gave it him to turn into Latin; which he did so choise- lie so orderlie so without any great misse in the hardest points of grammar that some in seven yeare in grammar schooles, yea, and same in the universities to, cannot do halfe so well. This worthie yong gentleman, to my great- est grief, to the great lamentation of that whole house, and specillie to that most noble ladie, now Queene Elizabeth her- self, departed within few days out of this world. And if in any cause a man may without offence of God speake somewhat ungodlie, surely it was some griefe unto me to see him hie so hastilie to God as he did. A court full of soch yong gentlemen, were rather a paradise than a court upon earth. And though I had never poeticale head to make any verse in any tonge, yet either love, or sorrow or both, did ring out of me then certain careful thoughts of
140 The Ancestry of John Whitney
my good will towards him; which, in my mourning for
him, fell forth more by chance than either by skill or use,
into this kinde of misorderly metre:
Myne own John Whitney, now farewell,
Now death doth parte us twain;
No death, but partyng for a while,
Whom life shall joyne agayne.
Therefore, my heart, cease sighs and sobbes,
Cease sorrowes seede to sow;
Whereof no gaine, but greater grief
And hurtfulle care may grow.
Yet when I thinke upon such giftes
Of grace, as God him lent;
My lease, his gaine, I must awhile,
With joyfulle teares lament.
Yong yeares to yielde soch frute in court,
Where seede of vice is sowne,
Is sometime read, in some place seen,
Amongst us seldome knowne.
His life he ledde, Christes lore to learn
With will to worke the same;
He read to know, and knew to live,
And liv'd to praise his name.
So fast a frende, so foe to few,
So good to every wight,
I may well wishe but scarcelie hope;
Againe to have in sight.
The greater joy his life to me,
His death the greater payne,
His life in Christ so surelie set,
Doth glad my hearte againe.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 141
His life so good, his death better,
Do mingle mirth with care,
My spirit with joye, my flesh with grief,
So deare a frend to spare.
Thus God the good, while they be good,
Doth take, and leave us ill;
That we should mend our sinfule life,
In life to tarry still.
Thus we well left, he better reft,
In heaven to take his place,
That by like life and death, at last,
We may obtaine like grace.
Mine own John Whitney, againe farewell,
A while thus parte in twaine;
Whom payne doth part in earth, in heaven
Great joy shall joyne agayne.
George, who will be mentioned again, the fourth
son, married and resided at Icomb. What became
of the other children is not known.
Robert, the eldest son of Robert of Icomb, went
back to Whitney, which, with the single exception
just noted, was the residence of all the heads of the
family. At his father's death, in 1541, he was still a
minor, so Sir James Baskerville, Knight, of Eardisley,
a few miles from Whitney, was appointed guardian
of his person and property. The latter had a daugh-
ter, Sybil, whose acquaintance young Whitney thus
had an opportunity to make, and whom, at some
time prior to 1544, he married. Sir James died in
1546, and his will, proved in the Prerogative Court of
Canterbury, is still of record in Somerset House.
142 The Ancestry of John Whitney
Whitney was named as a legatee and as one of the
executors.
THE LAST WILL OF SIR JAMES BASKERVILLE,
OF EARDISLEY, CO. HEREFORD, KNIGHT.
(P. C. C. 24 Alen)
Dated 4 Jan 1544-5. Proved 9 Dec 1546.
"In the name of god amen. The iiijth day of January in
the XXXVth yere of the Reigne of our soueraiyne Lorde
Henry the viijth by the grace of god King of Englande
Fraunce and Irelande Defendor of the faithe and yn earth
supreme hedd of the churche of Englande and Irelande I
Sr JAMES BASKERVILE, Knighte, being of hole mynde and
in parfitt remembraunce make my testament and last will in
manner and fourme following--firste I bequeth my soule
to almighty god to or Lady Saint Mary and to all the holie
company of heaven And my body to be buried wtin hal-
lowed grounde where it shall please God to take me to his
marcye.
Item I geue and bequeth to the cathedrall churche of
hereford iijs iiijd. Item I geue and bequeth to the Vicary
of Erdesley my goostely father for my forgotten tithes if
anny be tenne shillinges.
Item I geue and bequeth to Robert Whitney my sonne
in lawe tenne kyne nowe being in Over parke and six Oxen
being in the custody of Thomas Kedwarde my sarvaunte
John houlle and Bedowe Kadogan wt twoo beddes appareled
accordingly.
Item I geue and bequeth to the saide Robert thone [i. e.
the one] haulfe of suche wilde cattall as I haue in the
mounteynes in Ow Eluell wtin the Countie of Radnor ex-
cepte my mares and Coltes.
Item I geue and bequeth to the saide Robert my litle
Saulte of siluer withe a couer to the same.
Item I geue and bequeth to Edmounde Vaughan if it
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 143 please god that he accepte my doughter Elizabeth in mar- riage my Lease of Indenture concerning the tithes of Kyngton and Birley wt the hole proffetts pteyning to the same during the terme of yeres yett to come specified wtin the same Lease And also an other Lease of Indenture concerning the tithes of Elastonn whiche I hadd by the as- signement of Rees ap Glin and ouer that I geue and bequeth to the saide Edmonde wt the marriage of the saide Elizabeth the some of a hundreth mrc's [i. e. marks.] sterling to be paide wtin one yere aftre the aspowsell6 hadd solempnyzed and don betwixt the saide Edmounde and Elizabeth so that she be ordered and ruled by my Lady her mother the whiche some of a hundred mrc6' I will that it shalbe levied out of my plate excepte my best standing Cupp. And my execu- tours to see my doughter Elizabeth to haue her chambr and aparell convenyent for her degree againt the tyme of her saide marriage. And if it happen the saide Elizabeth to decease before she be married to the saide Edmounde or anny other man Then I will that the hole legacye bequethed unto her shall remayn unto Elyanor my youngist doughter to the preferment of her marriage so that she be likewise ordered by my Lady her mother. And if it happen the saide Elyanor to decease before she be marryed then her hole legacye to remayn to Elizabeth my wiffe. Item I geue and bequeth to Humfrey my youngist sonne my Lease of Indenture of Benfelde Wtin the parrishe of Bredwardyn wt the stocke of Cattall6 nowe in the pos- session of John Thomas. And if it happen the saide Hum- frey to decease wtout issue of his body laufully begotten Then I will and bequeth the same Lease wt cattal6 afor- saide to Walter Baskervile my sonne and to his heires. And if it happen the saide Walter to decease wtout heires of his bodye laufullye begotten then the same to remayne to John Baskervile his brother and to his heires during the terme of yeres yett to come comprised in the same Lease.
144 The Ancestry of John Whitney Item I geue and bequeth to JAMES my sonne and heire apparant viij oxen twentye kyne arid all my wilde mares Wt theire coultes nowe being in the mounteynes of Eluell aforsaide tweutye young beastes of twoo yeres and three yeres olde uppon condic'on that the same James his heires and Executours doo acquite and discharge me the saide Sr James and myn executours agenst the king our soue- raigne Lorde his heires and Successours of and for the payment of ffiftye poundes st [i. e. sterling] due to or sayde soueraigne Lorde the king for the wardeshipp of Robert Whitney Or els I woll that the saide Cattalls and Mares to be soulde by myne executours for the payment of the saide ffiftie poundes. The Residue of all my gooddes and Cattalls mouable and unmouable not bequethed I geue and bequeth to Eliza- beth my wiffe she to dispose the same as she thinketh goodd for the welthe of my soule and the preferment of my Childerne whiche Elizabeth my wiffe Robert Whitney John Baskervile my sonne and EDMOUNDE VAUGHAN if he doo marry my doughter Elizabeth I make myne Executours and Sr Anthony Wingfelde knighte of the gartre and viz cham'bleyne to the Kings maiestie to be Oversear that this my last will be p'fourmed. In Wittnes wherof I the saide Sr James to this my pn't last will haue putte my Seale Theis p'sonnes whose names be subscribed being pn't bering wittnes to the same. Per me Willum Stor clicum. Teste Willimo Baylie Walterus Crompe gent Richardus Done." TRANSLATION OF PROBATE. "This Will was proved 9 Dec 1546 by Robert Johnson Notary Public, Proctor for Dame Elizabeth the relict and John Baskervile the Executors, Probate being reserved for Robert Whitney the other Executor when he shall come and seek for it."
AUTOGRAPH OF ROBERT WHYTNEY, JANUARY 6, 1551(52). Lay Subsidy Roll 1/2|7/8 in the Public Record Office, London.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 145 In 1550 "Robert Whytney Esquire" was appointed royal commissioner for the hundreds of "Hunting- don" and "Strettford" to assess and collect a tax known as a Lay Subsidy, and the original returns, bearing his signature, are still on file in the Record Office, London. A photograph is shown of one of these, dated January 6, 5 Edward VI. (1551-52). The next record we have of him is that already quoted in the introduction, of his being made a knight in 1553. Strype,1 in his quaint style, de- scribes how "Sir Rob. Witney," and others, were "the Knights of the Carpet, dubbed October the 2d, the day after the Queen's (Mary) coronation, at the Palace at Westminster, before her in her chamber of presence, under the Cloth of State; by the Earl of Arundel; who had of her Highness commission to execute the same." In the records of the Privy Council, of a date two years later, can be found this minute: ACTS OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL "At Grenewiche the XIth of Marche, 1555. Thapparaunce The Lord Chauncelour Mr. Comptroller Therle of Pembroke Mr. Secretary Petre The Bishop of Ely A Lettre to Sir ROBERT WHITNAYE of the countye of Hereford, Knight, to give ordre fourthwith upon receipte hereof that George Whitnaye his brother maye make his undelayed repayre hither to the Courte." 1 "Memorials," by John Strype, vol. iii, p. 131.
146 The Ancestry of John Whitney There seems to be no way of ascertaining the ob- ject of the summons. "Sir ROBERT WHITNEY, Knight" of the County of Hereford, appears as a member of the parliament that was summoned to meet at Westminster, January 23, 1558-59. While in attendance, some of his "reteynours" became involved in a quarrel in the city of Lon- don, which brought Sir Robert into trouble with the famous Court of Star Chamber. This tribunal, or- ganized to punish such crimes "committed by the great families, or their adherents, as the ordinary law courts could not, or through fear, dared not, deal with," was an instrument of the State used to extort confessions of guilt by means of torture. As might have been expected, its secret sessions devel- oped into a terrible source of abuse, and became one of the greatest disgraces in the annals of a country which had hitherto boasted of immunity from any- thing of like nature. Of the proceedings in the case of Whitney we know nothing beyond what is dis- closed in a minute of the Privy Council: "At the Starre Chamber xxjth of Aprill 1559. The Lord Great Seale Mr. Secretary The Lord Treasourer Mr. Cave Therle of Shewisbury Mr. Mason The Lord Chamberlayne Mr. Sackevyle M. Vicechamberlain A letter to Sir ROBERT WHITNEY, knight, requyring and commandinge him in the Quenes Majsties name, to cause not only so many of hys servauntes and reteynours as haue been lately here within the Cytie of London within this moneth now laste paste to appeare before the Lordes at the
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 147 Courte within xxti dayes after the date of the sayd letter but as many besydes of his sayde servaunts to doo the lyke as have been with him and are within the said moneth de- parted from the sayd Cytie aboute his affairs or otherwise." Harleian Manuscript No.1545, fol. 69, in the Brit- ish Museum, has tricked upon it a Whitney ar- morial shield, with some, though not all of their quarterings as they existed at this time. A facsimile of it, as blazoned at the College of Arms, is shown in the accompanying plate, which is to be read as fol- lows: the numbering being from left to right, begin- ning at the top and taking the four rows in succession: 1. WHITNEY. Azure, a cross checky or and gules. 2. MILBOURNE. Gules, a chevron between 3 escallops argent. 3. EYNESFORD. Gules, fretty ermine. 4. FURNIVAL. Argent, a bend between 6 martlets gules, a crescent for difference or. 5. VERDON. Or, a fret gules.1 6. LUVETOT. Argent, a lion rampant per fess gules and sable. 7. BASKERVILLE. Argent, a chevron gules between 3 hurts, a crescent for difference. 8. BOTELAR (Botler or Butler). Gules, a fess checky arg. and sable between 6 cross crosslets or. 9. REES. Quarterly, per fess indented gules and ermine, in chief a file of 3 per pale or and Sable. 10. LENTHALL (Leinthall). Gules, a fess ermine, in chief a file of 5 or. 1 "Although the Coat of Verdon appears among the Whitney quarter- ings, both in the College of Arms and in the Harl. MS. above cited, I find that the Whitneys cannot claim descent from that ancient house; the heiress of Verdon having married into the elder branch of Furnival while it was the younger line of the latter family, as indicated by the crescent for difference, from which the Milbourne coheiresses sprang." C. E. Gildersome-Dickinson.
148 The Ancestry of John Whitney
11. LE GROS. Quarterly Argent and azure, on a bend sable 3 martlets or. 12. BREDWARDINE (Pedwardine). Argent, 2 lions passant in pale azure) langued gules. 13. SOLLERS. Or, a chevron azure between 3 lions' heads erased gules. 14. BRUGGE (Bridges). Argent, on a cross sable a leop- ard's face or. 15. BLACKETT. Azure, a bend coticed between 6 cross crosslets fitche'e or. 16. WHITNEY. As above.
All these extinct families, merged, or partially merged, in that of Whitney, were in their day of high standing and distinction. In the age of chivalry each knight had an emblem or device pictured on his shield and embroidered on the garment worn over his coat of mail--from this came the designation coat of arms. Such a custom was necessary to identify the wearer, whose face, when in battle, was concealed by the visor of his helmet. The symbol used suggested, if possible, some distin- guishing quality of the bearer or some event in his history. Hence crusaders usually adopted a cross or combination of crosses, which appeared in many forms and colors. As arms became numerous there was danger of confusion, and it became necessary to regulate them. They were therefore made hereditary, and officers called heralds were appointed by the sovereign to keep a registry of them, and devise all that might be adopted in the future. From time to time they made a tour of the kingdom, called a Heralds' Visi- tation, and those families claiming coats of arms showed their right to bear them by formally proving
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 149
their descent from an ancestor whose title had been previously established or was unquestioned. When one entitled to a coat died without male issue, his female heirs inherited it and transmitted it to their children. This gave rise to what was known as quarterings. For example, Ralph Baskerville had no son, so his daughter Jane inherited his arms. The latter mar- ried Simon Milbourne and had no son, so her daugh- ter Blanche inherited both the Baskerville and Mil- bourne arms; Blanche married James Whitney, and their son, Robert, inheriting from both father and mother, was entitled to combine or "quarter" on his shield all the arms belonging to either of them. The fact that fourteen coats-of-arms other than that of Whitney are here shown on the Whitney shield in- dicates that this number of their ancestors had been heiresses, each representing a family whose name "ran out." The Milbournes and Eynesfords have already been noticed. Of the others Furnival was founded by a knight whose name appears in the "Roll of Battle Abbey."1 Sir Gerard de Furnival accompanied Rich- ard I. on the Crusade to the Holy Land, and greatly distinguished himself at the Siege of Acre. William de Luvetot fought at Senlac, and after- ward possessed the whole of Hallamshire. The family ending in a daughter, Matilda, King Rich- ard Coeur de Lion, her guardian, gave her in mar- riage to the son of his companion in arms, Sir Gerard de Furnival, above mentioned. The Botelars were great barons, frequently summoned to Parliament.
1 Burke's "Roll of Battle Abbey."
150 The Ancestry of John Whitney
From them were descended, through a female line, the Lords Ferrers of Wemme. Rees was one of the most famous Welsh names. Sir Roland Leinthall "tooke many prisoners at Agincourt, by which preye he beganne the new building of Hampton Courte"1 in Herefordshire. The Bredwardines derived their name from a parish adjoining Whitney. Sir John de Brugge, of Brugge Sollers, in Herefordshire, a sheriff of Herefordshire and a member of parliament, was also at Agincourt with Whitney, Baskerville, Lein- thall, and Sir John Blackett.2
The Baskerville Pedigrees show the following:
Gerard de Furnival, a =
knight, who followed Rich- |
ard Coeur de Lion to the |
Holy Land. |
_________________|
|
Gerard, Lord Furnival of = Matilda, daughter and heir-
Sheffield, a baron faith- | ess of William de Luvetot of
ful to King John, and a | Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
crusader who died in Je- |
rusalem 3 Henry III. |
__________________|
| |
Thomas, Lord Furnival, slain |
by the Saracens, ancestor |
of the Lords Furnival. |
__________________|
|
Gerard de Furnival = Christian, daughter and heir
| of Wischard Ledet and wid-
| ow of Henry de Braybroke.
__________________|
|
1 Leland's "Itinerary." 2 1 Duncomb, vol. i, p. 89.
WHITNEY QUARTERINGS.
As tricked upon Harleian Manuscript No. 1545, fol. 69,
In the British Museum.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 151
Sir Gerard de Furnival = Joan, daughter (possibly
| granddaughter) and coheir
| of Sir Hugh de Morville, one
| of the knights who killed
| Thomas a' Becket in Canter-
| bury Cathedral in 1170.
|____
|
Sir John Eynesford of = Christian.
Burghill |
|_____
|
Sir Piers Milbourne = Elizabeth, daughter and heir.
An extension of this down to Blanche Milbourne, who married James Whitney, has already been given. The immediate ancestry of Sybil Baskerville, who married Sir Robert Whitney, shows how closely united by blood were all these great families.
Sir John Baskerville, = Elizabeth, daughter of John
of Combe,1 and Eardisley; | Touchett, Baron Audley.
died 1455. |
_______________|
|
Sir James Baskerville, = Katherine, daughter of
of Eardisley, Sheriff for | Walter Devereux, Lord Fer-
Co. Hereford, 38 Hen. | rers, of Chartley, lineally
VI., 4 Edw. IV., and 14 | descended from King Ed-
Hen. VII. Made Knight | ward I.
Banneret, for extraordi- |
nary valor, on the field after |
the Battle of Stoke, 1487. |
Knight of the Bath at coro- |
nation of Henry VII. |
___________________|
|
1 A John Baskerville was at Agincourt, but he may have been this man's father.
152 The Ancestry of John Whitney
Sir Walter Baskerville, = Anne, daughter of Morgan
of Eardisley, Sheriff for | ap Jenkyn ap Philip of
Co. Herefordshire, 9 Edw. | Pencoyd.
IV. Knight of the Bath |
at marriage of Prince Ar- |
thur, 1501. |
______________|
|
Sir James Baskerville, = Elizabeth, daughter and co-
of Eardisley, | heir of John Breynton by
| Sybil, daughter and coheir
| of Simon Milbourne, and
| sister of Blanche, who mar-
| ried James Whitney.
|____
|
Sir Robert Whitney = Sybil.
Burke's "Dictionary of the Landed Gentry," ed. 1852, has the following account of the Baskerville line: "The family of Baskerville is one of the most an- cient and honorable in England, its name is upon the roll of Battel Abbey, it has ever maintained the highest rank among the gentry, and it can boast the blood of the Plantagenets. "The Baskervilles came into Herefordshire soon after the conquest, and settling at Eardisley, became connected with the first families of the county, served the office of Sheriff no less than twenty-one times and were elected Knights of the Shire in eleven parliaments. "Their pedigree has been authentically deduced and is duly registered in the College of Arms. "Sir Robert Baskerville, Knt. of Eardisley Castle,
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 153
in the Co. of Hereford, m. Agnes, dau. and heiress of Nesta dau of Rees ap Griffith, Prince of South Wales, and was s. by his son. "Sir Ralph de Baskerville, Lord of Eardisley in the time of Henry II. who m. a dau. of Drogo, brother of Richard Lord Clifford, and was s. by his son. "Sir Roger de Baskerville, of Eardisley; living in the reign of Henry II. who espoused a dau. of Rothes de Gros, Knt. Lord of Orcop, and was succeeded by his son. "Walter de Baskerville, of Eardisley, temp. Ric- ard I. who was s. by his son, "Walter de Baskerville, who m. Susan dau. of Sir John Cregdon, Knt. and had three sons, Walter (Sir) of Eardisley, temp Henry III. who left two daus. his coheirs; Richard (Sir) of whom we are about to treat, and George, Lord of Lowton and Pickthorne, the second son of Walter. "Sir Richard de Baskerville, M. P. for the Co. of Hereford in 1295 and 1297, became Lord of Eardisley at the decease of his elder brother. He m. a dau. of Sir ----- Sollers, Knt. and was s. by his eldest son, "Sir Walter de Baskerville, Lord of Combe, who m. in the 26th Edward I. Sibill, dau. of Peter Corbet, of Caux: and dying about the 12th Edward II. was s. by his son, "Sir Richard de Baskerville, Knt. of Eardisley, M. P. for the Co. of Hereford in 1347, who m. in the 14th Edward II Jane or Joane, dau. of Sir Richard Poines, or Poynings, Knt. and was s. by his son, "Sir Richard Baskerville, Knt. of Eardisley, living temp Edward III, who m. Isabella, dau. and heiress of Sir Walter Paveley Knt. by whom he had a son his successor.
Copyright © 2004, 2006, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group
Categories:
- Medieval
- England
- Herefordshire, England
- Whitney, Herefordshire, England
- Pencombe, Herefordshire, England
- Ocle Pitcherd, Herefordshire, England
- Kings Caple, Herefordshire, England
- Comwich, Herefordshire, England
- Clifton, Herefordshire, England
- Gloucestershire, England
- Icomb, Gloucestershire, England
- Wales
- Monmouthshire, Wales
- Troy, Monmouthshire, Wales
- Radnorshire, Wales
- Boughrood, Radnorshire, Wales
