The Slovak Yankee

The False Royal Line of Thomas Gardiner b.ca. 1531-1590 of London, England

Occasionally I google the names of ancestors who are dead ends to see if someone else has broken through or is working on them.  I happen to descend from Thomas Gardiner and Katherine Benbowe of London, England.  They are covered in the Visitations of London and Essex where Katherine is given as Benbowe or Dembowe.  Their son Christopher married Jane Topp.

Thomas Gardiner is given as the son of a Robert Gardiner and grandson of a John Gardiner.

I found Thomas and Katherine today on a webpage with ancestors.  I was curious. It is called McCay/Stevens  Genealogy Pages.  Well, the red flag went up right away.  Katherine Benbowe's father is given as Richard Donbolde Benbowe born say 1530.  No one in England had middle names in the 16th century (and earlier). 

Thomas Gardiner is given as the son of John Gardiner and Agnes Hornsey and grandson of a Richard Gardiner.  That Richard was the son of a William John Gardiner b. 1459 and Helen Tudor.  Again a middle name in the 15th century.

Well, Tudor is quite the name to come across and indeed she is the illegitimate daughter of Sir Jasper Tudor, the Duke of Bedford and uncle to Henry VII of England.  Sir Jasper is the second son of Owen Tudor and Katherine of Valois, first Queen to Henry V and daughter of Charles VI of France.

Well, be still my beating heart.  What a line.  It took almost no time to tear this up.  Helen Tudor is indeed the illegitimate daughter of Sir Jasper Tudor.  She married a William Gardiner, citizen of London.  She had five children, one son and 4 daughters.  The son became a monk (Thomas Gardiner) and the Gardiner name dies out there.

So some enterprising genealogist has concocted a way to get from Helen and William to another Gardiner family, citizens of London.  I would have liked a Tudor line.

Charlemagne and my father

I have always known that my mother was a descendant of Charlemagne in thousands of lines of descent.  Somewhere I've published my closest descent from Charlemagne.  It has been conjectured that anyone who lived 1,000 years ago (or more) and left living descendants are the ancestors of everyone living today (that is of European descent).  So I always believed that that was not true because my father descended from Slovak peasants and there was no way that his line could stretch back to Frankish royalty.

But the discovery of a German ancestor (Jacob Shultz) in my ancestry has altered my view.  Now I can see that in 900 years (roughly 800 to 1700) there could be a line that connects Charlemagne to my Jacob Shultz and then down to my father and to me.  I think Europe was a bit more active than I pictured it to be with people remaining in their home village for generation after generation.  There was movement west to east and from all directions to the other.

It would be curious to see who the common ancestor was behind my mother and father.  That is lost to time.

 

St. Prince Vladimir the Great

Prince Vladimir the Great of Kiev (c. 958 to 15 July 1015) is now a saint in the Orthodox Church and his feast day is today.

 

1. Prince Vladimir the Great
2. Yaroslav the Wise m. Ingegard Olofsdotter (daughter of the King of Sweden)
3. Anna Jaroslavna m. Henry I King of France

 

3. Agatha of Kiev m. Edward the Exile of England

4. St. Margaret of England m. Malcolm III, King of Scotland

 

3. Vsevold I Monomakh m. Anastasia

4. Vladmir II of Kiev m. Gytha of Wessex (Daughter of Harold II King of England)

5. Mstislav, of Kiev m. Liubava Zavidich

6. Euphrosyne of Kiev m. Geza II, King of Hungary

7. Bela III King of Hungary m. Agnes of Antioch

8. Andrew II King of Hungary m. Gertrude of Meran

9. Bela IV King of Hungary m. Princess Marie of Byzantium

10. Stephen V, King of Hungary m. Elizabeth of Bosnia

11. Marie, Princess of Hungary m. Charles II King of Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem

12. Marguerite, Princess of Sicily m. Charles Valois, Prince of France

13. Jeanne of Valois m. William III, Count of Hainault

14. Philippa of Hainault m. Edward III, King of England

 

There's three descents from the Saint.

 

The Mowbray Connection

Gary Boyd Roberts is a famous genealogist known for two published series.  One is on the ancestors of the American presidents and the other is on royally-descended immigrants to North America.  I've owned all his books at one time or another.

However, his life's work is an unpublished set called the Mowbray Connection where in dozens of notebooks he traces the ancestry of famous people.  And he shows how most are connected via English ancestry.  That made me think of my own Mowbray Connections.

Starting with:

1. Roger de Mowbray, 1st Lord Mowbray c. 1257-1297 m. Roese de Clare
2. John de Mowbray, 2nd Lord Mowbray 1286-1322 m. Aline de Braiose  they were the parents of Christina de Mowbray who married Sir William de Plumpton who are ancestral to Peter Worden
3. John de Mowbray, 3rd Lord Mowbray, 1310-1362 m. Joan of Lancaster  they were the parents of Eleanor de Mowbray who married Roger La Warre, 3rd Lord la Warre and are ancestral to Rose (Stoughton) Otis
4. John de Mowbray, 4th Lord Mowbray, 1340-1368 m. Elizabeth de Segrave
5. Eleanor de Mowbray m. Sir John de Welles, 5th Lord Welles who are ancestral to Anne Eure and Elizabeth (Mansfield) Wilson.

So I have three immigrants of royal descent with Mowbray ancestry.

A Tentative Chronology for the Fulnetby Family

• John Fulnetby born say 1360 married Eleanor Skipwith, daughter of Patrick Skipwith. They had at least two children: John and Elizabeth who married Gerard Southill, Esquire born 14 September 1398 and died 29 October 1462. He married secondly Isabel Fauconberge, daughter of Sir Walter Fauconberge and Maud de Greystoke.
• John Fulnetby born say 1390 alive in April 1429 when he sues. Has a wife Joan then, probably Joan Towers. They have a son John:
• John Fulnetby born say 1425. He married a daughter of Gerard Sothill and Isabel Fauconberge. They had a son John:
• John Fulnetby born say 1455 and died 11 June 1524. He married twice. First he married Elizabeth Eland by whom he had two daughters Elizabeth and Joan. They were the co-heirs of their uncle Robert Eland in 1522. (IPM of Robert Eland). John married secondly Joan Dymoke, daughter of Sir Thomas Dymoke and Margaret de Welles. Her siblings were Sir Robert Dymoke and Sir Lionel Dymoke. John and Joan had at least one son Godfrey and a daughter Katherine who married William Dynewell and died at Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire.
• Godfrey Fulnetby born about 1485, died 28 January 1541. He married Elizabeth Goodrich, sister of Thomas Goodrich, the Bishop of Ely and Chancellor of England. Godfrey and Elizabeth had seven children: John, Christopher [his family in the Visitation of Suffolk], Marmaduke, Mary, Anne, Barbara, and Katherine.
• John Fulnetby born 1511 and died 1544. He married Margaret Grantham and had five daughters: Elizabeth, Isabel, Margaret, Anne and Alice.

The Fulnetby Family of Lincolnshire

Over the past several days I have posted primary documents relating to the Fulnetby family of the 15th and 16th centuries.

From these documents we can see that:

A John Fulnetby who died on 11 June 1524 had a wife named Joan and an eldest son and heir named Godfrey Fulnetby.

Godfrey Fulnetby died 28 January 1541 and married Elizabeth Goodrich, daughter of William Goodrich, and had as his eldest son and heir John Fulnetby who was 30 in 1541. He also had sons Christopher and Marmaduke and daughters, Mary, Anne, Barbara, and Katherine.

John Fulnetby born 1511, died October 1544. He married Margaret Grantham. He had a brother Christopher and daughters, Elizabeth, Isabel, Margaret, Anne and Alice.

John Fulnetby the elder leased land to Sir Robert Dymoke. Godfrey Fulnetby witnessed the will of Sir Lionel Dymoke, Robert’s brother in 1512.

These are facts based on primary evidence. Now turning to visitations or the LIncolnshire Pedigrees, we find that all visitations are unanimous that the Joan married to John Fulnetby the elder was a Dymoke. Various relationships are given but for chronology it is best to make Joan a sister of Sir Lionel and Sir Robert Dymoke and therefore daughter of Sir Thomas Dymoke and Margaret de Welles. This makes sense. As a Joan, she would be named for her paternal grandmother Joan Conyers or her maternal grandmother, Joan de Waterton.

By the IPM we know that John Fulnetby the younger was born in 1511 (aged 30 in 1541). Since he is the oldest son we can infer that he was close to if not the oldest child. That means Godfrey Fulnetby was married no later than 1510 and born say 1485. (And died in 1541 at age 56).

John Fulnetby the elder was married twice. First to Elizabeth Eland by whom he had two daughters. These daughters are the heirs to their uncle by his IPM. John then married Joan Dymoke. If Godfrey were their eldest child they were married no later than 1484. John was married before and possibly about 5-7 years before then in 1478. He was therefore born say 1455. He dies in 1524 at age approximately 69, This dovetails nicely with Joan Dymoke’s birth in the 1460s per her father’s IPM.

This also makes a Katherine Fulnetby born say 1490 and buried in January 1546 at age 56. She easiliy fits into the Whitgift timeline and proves the statement that John Whitgift was a Fulnetby by blood and a relation to the Goodriches by marriage.

This makes John Fulnetby the elder’s parents, also a John Fultneby born say 1425. According to the visitations he married a daughter of Gerard Sothill. Well, the only available Gerard Sothill of the correct age (born 1398) is the one who married Isabel Fauconberge. This couple was recently discussed in The Sothill, Fauconberge and Greystoke Ancestry of William Wentworth of New Hampshire by Terry J. Booth, The American Genealogist 92 (2021):81-92, 92 (2022):217-236. This Gerard Sothill married first a daughter Elizabeth Fulnetby but given the timeline she must have been the daughter of John Fulnetby and Eleanor Skipwith.

That configuration would make John Fulnetby and Joan Dymoke half second cousins through Maud de Greystoke. They would not have needed a dispensation to marry being distantly related. (full second cousins yes, but half second cousins no).

This bolsters the argument that Thomas Bradbury’s ancestry goes back to the Dymokes and now to the Sothills.

 

Inquisition

Inquisition, indented, taken at Caster in the county of Lincolnshire on the 10th day of the month of September in the 16th year of the reign of King Henry VIII, before John Etton, escheator of the said lord king in the aforesaid county, by virtue of his office after the death of John Fulnetby of Fulnetby, esquire, by the oath of Thomas Mounson, William Messenden, Henry Hanserd, John Elstone, John Screvayne, Thomas Williamson, Thomas Foxe, John Chapman, Robert Kelsey, Robert Magnoll, John Robynsone and Simon Mawyer. Who say upon their oath that the said John Fulnetby a long time before his death was seised in his demesne as of fee of and in his manor of Fulnetby, aforesaid. Which same manor extends [in] Fulnetby, Hallythorpe and Rand. And of and in 12 messuages, 100 acres of land, 80 acres of meadow and 60 acres of pasture, lying in Fulnetby, Hallythorpe and Rand, aforesaid. And they also say that the said John Fulnetby, being so seised in his demesne as of fee of and in the premises, enfeoffed Robert Dymmoke, knight, and others to his use and that of Joan his wife and the heirs of the body of the said John Fulnetby begotten forever. And the jurors also that the said John Fulnetby was seised in his demesne as of fee on the day, on which he died, of and in seven acres of pasture, lying in Tyde called Saynt Mary in the parts of Holland in the aforesaid county. And the aforesaid jurors say upon their oath that the aforesaid manor of Fulnetby with its appurtenances, and also the 12 messuages, 100 acres of land, 80 acres of meadow and 56 acres of pasture, lying in Fulnetby, Hallythorpe and Rand, aforesaid, are held of the lord of Wragby, by what services they are completely ignorant. And that they are worth per annum in all issues beyond reprises £18. And they say that the aforesaid seven acres of pasture, lying in Tyde called Saynt Mary, are held of the reeve and college of Tateshall by fealty and the rent of 16d a year. And they are worth per annum in all issues beyond reprises 12s 8d. And they also say that one pasture, parcel of 60 acres of pasture in Hallythorpe, containing four acres, is held of Lady Cheny by the rent of 4s a year. And it is worth per annum in all issues beyond reprises 12s. And in addition, they say upon their oath that the aforesaid John Fulnetby, nor anyone else, had or held any other or more lands or tenements of the said lord king or of anyone else in demesne, reversion or in service in the aforesaid county on the day, on which he died. And the jurors says that the said John Fulnetby died on the 11th day of the month of June in the year, as above. And they say upon their oath that Godfrey Fulnetby is his son and next heir and is of full age. In testimony of which matter, both the aforesaid John Etton, the escheator, and also the aforesaid jurors have affixed their seals to the parts of the inquisition. Dated the day, place and year, abovesaid.

Will of John Fulnetby

The will of John Fulnetby, 17 Jun 1544

In dei no[m]i[n]e Amen the xvijth day of
June in the xxxvj yere of the reigne of
o[u]r sov[er]aigne lord Henry theight by the grace of god
King of England Fraunce and of Irland defender
of the faith and in earthe of the churches of
England and Irlaund the sup[re]me head I John
Fulnetby of Fulnettby in the countie of Lincoln
Esquyer beyng seke of my body and whole
of mynd make this my Laste will and
testament in man[er] and forme folowing [tha]t
ys to say fyrst I gyff and bequethe my
soule to almyghtie god and my body to be
buried in the churche of Rande in the countie
of Lincoln aforesaid It[e]m I gyff and bequeth
to o[u]r lady warkes in Lyncoln aforesaid xijd Also
in a full recompence of a Joynture p[ro]mysid
to be assured and maid by Godfray Fulnetby
my father to M[ar]garete my wyff ov[er] and
Above my Landes and ten[emen]tes callyd Halythorpe
sett lying and beyng in Fulnetby aforesaid
by this my Laste will and testament I
gyff and bequethe to the said M[ar]garete a
certayne tenement callyd the Redinges w[i]t[h]
crokes sett lying and beyng in Fulnetby
aforesaid and nowe in the tenure and
occupation of Richard Benton for t[er]me of
certayne yeres yet to come to gether w[i]t[h] all
the Landes medowes pastures and other
heredytamentes to the same belonging
To have and to hold the same Landes
ten[emen]tes and other the p[re]misses to hyr
[page 2]
the said M[ar]garete and to hyr assignes for t[er]me
of hyr Lyff naturall and yf yt shall happen
the same Landes ten[emen]tes and other the p[re]misses
or eny p[ar]te me[m]bre or p[ar]cell therof by the dew
circu[m]stance and cowrse of the com[m]on Lawe
or other wysse to be evycted or recov[er]ed
out of the possession of the said M[ar]garete or
of hyr assignes then I will that she the said
M[ar]garete and hyr assignes shall enter into
asmuche of that my Landes ten[emen]tes and all
other my heredytamentes sett lying and
beyng in Fulnetby aforesaid as then shalbe
of the clere yerly value above all
charges and reprisis of the Landes ten[emen]tes
and other the heredytamentes so recov[er]ed or
other wyse evyctyd as ys aforesaid and
the same shall sever mete and bonde and
the p[ro]fyttes therof yerly growing and co[m]myng
during hyr Lyff naturall shall yerely
p[e]rceve and take to hyr or ther owne p[ro]per
use It[e]m by this my Laste will and testame[n]t
I will that my said wyff Thomas Granth[a]m
gent[leman] my brother in Lawe and [Christ]ofer Fulnetby
my brother shall have possess[ion] and Inyoye and
shall stand and be seisid of and in all [tha]t
my Landes ten[emen]tes rentes rev[er]cions and s[er]vyces
woddes medowes and pastures and of and
in all other my heredytamentes w[i]t[h] ther
members and appurten[a]nces excepte the
Landes ten[emen]tes and other the p[re]misses in thes
p[re]sentes before mencioned and exp[re]ssyd sett
Lying and beyng w[i]t[h]in the townes and p[ar]yshes
of Fulnetby and Rand Orby Ashyngton and
Braytofte and elles where w[i]t[h]in the said countie
of Lincoln and the yerly issues revenewes and
p[ro]fyttes theroff growing and co[m]myng
shall p[er]ceve and take and therw[i]t[h] shall may[n]tene
[page 3]
Kepe and bring upp all my childern that ys to say
Elizabeth Izabell M[ar]garete Anne Alyce unto such
tyme as ev[er]y of them shalbe mariable and be
maried and further w[i]t[h] the same p[ro]fyttes at the mariage
of ev[er]y of them marieng by the concent of my said
Wyff my said brother in Lawe and of my said
brother or at the will of too of them or of the
survyvo[u]r of them they shall pay to ev[er]y of them
the somme of one hundereth markes sterlinge and
yf yt shall happen eny of my said dowghters
to mary w[i]t[h]out the concent of my said wyff
my said brother in Lawe or of my said brother
as ys aforesaid then ev[er]y of them to have
all suche soum[m]es of money under the soum[m]e
of one hundereth m[ar]kes as to them shalbe thought
mett and co[n]venyent and no more eny thinge
in thies p[re]sentes contenyd to the contrayrie
therof in any wyse not w[i]t[h]standing and yf yt
shall happen my said wyff at the tyme of
my decesse to be w[i]t[h] child then I will
furthermore that my said b[r]other in Lawe
and my said Brother w[i]t[h] the yerly p[ro]fyttes
aforesaid shall fynd the same childe as
ys aforesaid and at the tyme of his or hyr
mariage or accomplyshment of the age of
xxj yeres shall also pay to hym or hyr
the soum[m]e of one hundereth markes and yf
yt shall happen any of my said childern
to decesse or dye before they shalbe maried
then I will that my said dought[er] or dought[er]s survyving
shall have the same sum[m]e or sum[m]es that to hym
or them owght to have bene
paid by force of this my Laste will equally
to be devydid It[e]m I will that my said wyff
Thomas and Cristofor w[i]t[h the resedewe of the
[page 4]
profyttes of the p[re]misses shall maynteane and
fynd A p[re]ste to syng for my soule and
for the soulles of all cristen during the
space of one yere next ensuyng paying
to hym a yere iiijli at too t[er]mes in the
yere or other wyse upon ther discrecions
and for the execucion and p[er]formaunce
of this my Laste will to be executed
and p[er]formyd according to the godly and
gudd menyng theroff by this same my
Laste will and testament I do constitute
orden and make my said trustie and
Welbelovyd wyff Thomas Granth[a]m my
brother in Lawe and my said brother
[Christ]ofor Fulnetby and the survyvo[u]r of them
my executors and for the better of
obs[er]vacion and well p[er]formyng of the
same I do ordene and make Vincent
Granth[a]m Esquyer my father in Lawe
the sup[er]vysor theroff In wytnes wheroff
I have setto my hande The day and
yere Above wrytten

On the 22nd day of the month of October in the year of the lord 1544 in the cathedral church of St Mary, Lincoln, before master John Pope, commissary, etc, the present will was proved, etc. And there was committed the administration of goods of the aforesaid deceased to Thomas Grantham, the executor, etc, sworn in form of law, etc. With power reserved to us, etc, for committing a like administration, to Margaret, relict of the same deceased, and to Christopher Fulnetby, the executor, etc, when they shall come to undertake it in form of law, etc.

IPM for Godfrey Fulnetby

Ipm of Godfrey Fulnetby (C 142/63/56)

It was delivered to the court on the third day of December in the year, below written, by the hands of George Foster.

Inquisition, indented, taken at Boston in the county of Lincoln on the fifth day of November in the 33rd year of the reign of King Henry VIII, before Anthony Robertson, esquire, escheator of the said lord king in the aforesaid county, by virtue of a writ of the same lord king de diem clausit extremum after the death of Godfrey Fulnetby, esquire, lately deceased, directed to the same escheator and annexed to this this inquisition, by the oath of William Cokler, John Almondson, Richard …, Peter …, Thomas …, … Nessefeld, Nicholas Lee, Thomas Westland, John Bustard, John Foster, William Alenson, William Marten, Thomas Cony, Thomas Johnson and Leonard Bawdre. Who say upon their oath that a long time before the death of the aforesaid Godfrey Fulnetby, named in the said writ, a certain John Fulnetby, esquire, father of the said Godfrey, was seised in his demesne as of fee of and in the manors of Fulnetby and Botheby with appurtenances in the county of Lincolnshire, and also of and in 20 messuages, 500 acres of land, 214 acres of meadow, 250 acres of pasture, 34s of rent with appurtenances in Fulnetby and Botheby, aforesaid, Rande, Halbertoft, Asshyngton, Welton, Orby, Braytoft, Thoreswey and Tydde St Mary in the county of Lincolnshire, and the same John Fulnetby, being so seised of the aforesaid manors, lands, tenements and rents with appurtenances, in consideration of a certain marriage to be celebrated between the aforesaid Godfrey Fulnetby, named in the said writ, son and heir of the said John, on the one part, and a certain Elizabeth, daughter of William Godryk, on the other part, the aforesaid John Fulnetby by his certain deed, indented, shown in evidence to the aforesaid jurors upon the taking of this inquisition, completed between the aforesaid John Fulnetby on the one part and the aforesaid William Godryk on the other part. By which same deed the same John Fulnetby for his part amongst other things with the aforesaid William covenanted and agreed by these words following, as in English: Also the said John Fulnety by these presents covenants and grants that he, before the day of St Andrew the apostle next coming, shall suffer and cause to be suffered John Topclyff of Somerby in the county of Lincolnshire, esquire, Geoffrey Paynell of Toft in the county of Lincoln, esquire, Thomas Robertson of Algerkyrk in the county of Lincoln, merchant of the staple at Calais, Richard Wheitcroft of Conysby in the county of Lincoln, merchant of the staple at Calais, and John Goodrik, son and heir of the said William, to have a sure, sufficient and a lawful estate by recovery by one writ of entry in the post against him and Johan his wife at the costs and expenses of the said John Fulnetby of the manor of Botheby in the county of Lincoln with the lands and tenements, together with the said manor, to be of the clear yearly value of £20 over all charges necessary to the intent following. That is to say, that of lands and tenements of the yearly value of £13 6s 8d of the same. Whereof the said manor of Botheby and the mansion with the demesnes and appurtenances of the same to be parcel. The said John, Geoffrey, Thomas, Richard and John Goodrik shall immediately after the said recovery stand and be seised to the use and behoof of the said Godfrey Fulnetby and the said Elizabeth and to the heirs of the body of the said Godfrey, and for lack of heirs of the body of the said Godfrey, then to the use of the heirs of the body of the said John Fulnetby, and for lack of heirs of the body of the said John Fulnetby, then to the use of the right heirs of the said John Fulnetby forever, and of lands and tenements of the yearly value of £6 13s 4d, residue of the said lands and tenements, comprised in the said recovery, the said John, Geoffrey, Thomas, Richard and John Goodrik to be seised to the use of the said John Fulnetby for term of his life, and after his decease the use of the said Godfrey and Elizabeth and to the heirs of the body of the said Godfrey begotten. And for lack of such heirs of the body of the said Godfrey, then to the use of the heirs of the of the body of the said John Fulnetby, and for lack of heirs of the body of the said John Fulnetby, then to the use of the right heirs of the said John Fulnetby forever. And the aforesaid jurors say further upon their oath that the aforesaid Geoffrey Paynell, Thomas Roberdson, John Topcliff and Richard Whetcroft, in complement and performance of the said covenants and agreements, specified above in the same deed, indented, afterwards, namely in the term of St Michael in the first year of the reign of King Henry VIII, before the justices of the same lord king at Westminster, by John Haslerton, then their attorney, by writ of the said lord king upon disseisin in le post, recovered against the same John Fulnetby and the aforesaid Joan his wife the manor of Botheby with appurtenances, and four messuages, 100 acres of land, 40 acres of meadow and 60 acres of pasture with appurtenances in Botheby, Orby, Welton, Braytoft and Halbertoft, aforesaid, parcel of the aforesaid manors, lands, tenements and rents, just as in the aforesaid term, in the 329th roll, is more fully clear and apparent as of record. By virtue of which same recovery, the aforesaid Geoffrey Paynell, Thomas Roberdson, John Topclyff and Richard Wetcroft were seised in their demesne as of fee tail of the aforesaid manor and tenements and further to the use, recited and specified above in the said deed, indented, and the same men being so seised in the aforesaid form, the aforesaid John Fulnetby died on the 11th day of May in the 16th year of the reign of the said lord King Henry VIII. After whose death, the aforesaid Geoffrey Paynell, Thomas Roberdson, John Topclyf and Richard Whetcroft were seised in their demesne as of fee tail of the aforesaid manor and tenements, parcel, with appurtenances to the use of the said Godfrey Fulnetby and the said Elizabeth his wife according to the form and effect of the aforesaid indenture. And the aforesaid Geoffrey Paynell, Thomas Roberdson, John Topcliff and Richard Whetcroft, being so seised of that manor and of the aforesaid tenements with appurtenances, parcel, in the aforesaid form, the same Geoffrey, John Topclif and Richard Wetcroft died, and the aforesaid Thomas Roberdon survived the same Geoffrey, John Topclif and Richard Wetcroft and kept himself in the aforesaid manor and tenements with appurtenances and was thereupon seised alone in his demesne as of fee tail to the abovesaid use by ius accrescendi, and the same Thomas Roberdson, being so seised in the aforesaid form, the same Thomas Roberdson died alone seised to the abovesaid use. After whose death the aforesaid manors and tenements, parcel, with appurtenances descended to a certain Nicholas Roberdson, esquire, as son and heir of the said Thomas. By virtue of which, the same Nicholas was thereupon seised in his demesne as of fee tail to the aforesaid use of the aforesaid manor and tenements with appurtenances, parcel, until the fourth day of February in the 27th year of King Henry VIII. On which day by the statute, then issued and provided, the aforesaid Godfrey Fulnetby and Elizabeth his wife were seised of the aforesaid manor and tenements with appurtenances, parcel, viz the aforesaid Godfrey in demesne as of fee tail, and the aforesaid Elizabeth in her demesne as of a free tenement. And the said Godfrey and Elizabeth, being so seised of the same manor of Botheby with appurtenances, and of the aforesaid four messuages, 100 acres of land, 40 acres of meadow and 60 acres of pasture with appurtenances in Botheby, Orby, Welton, Braytoft and Halbertoft, aforesaid, with appurtenances, parcel of the aforesaid manors, lands and tenements, in the aforesaid form, the aforesaid Godfrey Fulnetby died, and the aforesaid Elizabeth survived him and kept herself inside in the aforesaid manor and tenements with appurtenances by ius accrescendi, and is still in full life and still is seised to the abovesaid use. And also the aforesaid jurors say upon their oath that the aforesaid Godfrey Fulnetby, named in the said writ, a long time before his death, was seised in demesne as of fee of and in the aforesaid manor of Fulnetby, aforesaid, with appurtenances. And of and in 16 messuages, 408 acres of land, 174 acres of meadow, 197 acres of pasture and 54s of rent with appurtenances, the rest of the aforesaid lands, tenements and rents in Fulnetby, Botheby, Rande, Halbertoft, Asshyngton, Walton, Orby, Braytoft, Thoreswey and Tidde St Mary, aforesaid. And he being so seised, died thereupon alone seised. And also the aforesaid jurors say upon their oath that the aforesaid manor of Fulnetby, 12 messuages, 160 acres of land, 80 acres of meadow, 80 acres of pasture and 20s of rent with appurtenances in Fulnetby and Rande, aforesaid, are held and at the time of the death of the said Godfrey were held of Thomas, earl of Rutland, as of his manor of Wragby by the seventh part of one knight’s fee, but by what other services the aforesaid jurors are completely ignorant. And they are worth per annum in all issues beyond reprises £18. And that the aforesaid manor of Botheby with appurtenances and also four messuages, 88 acres of land, 120 acres of meadow, 128 acres of pasture and 54s of rent with appurtenances in Botheby, Halbertoft and Asshyngton, aforesaid, are held and at the time of the death of the said Godfrey were held of the warden and society of the college, founded in the university of Oxford, to the honor and glory of omnipotent God and memory of St Mary Magdalene commonly called Mawdelen College in the university of Oxford as of his manor of Candylsby in the county of Lincolnshire by fealty and the rent of 2s a year, but by what other services the aforesaid jurors do not know. And they are worth per annum in all issues beyond reprises £20. And also they say that one other messuage or toft and 30 acres of land with appurtenances in Welton, aforesaid, are held and at the time of the death of the said Godfrey were held of Charles, duke of Suffolk, as of his manor of Hanby by fealty and the rent of 8s 8d. And they are worth per annum in all issues beyond reprises 20s. And furthermore, the aforesaid jurors say that one messuage, 16 acres of land and 12 acres of pasture with appurtenances in Orby are held and at the time of the death of the said Godfrey were held of Walter Griffith, knight, as of his manor of Orby by fealty and the rent of one pound of pepper a year. And they are worth per annum in all issues beyond reprises 30s. And that one messuage, 14 acres of land, 10 acres of meadow, 23 acres of pasture with appurtenances in Braytoft, aforesaid, are held and at the time of the death of the said Godfrey were held of Elizabeth Taylboys, widow, Lady Taylboys, as of her manor of Croft by fealty and the rent of 14d a year. And they are worth per annum in all issues beyond reprises 40s. And also that one message, 200 acres of land and four acres of pasture with appurtenances in Thoreswey, aforesaid, are held and at the time of the death of the said Godfrey were held of the heirs of Thomas Hatcliff as of his manor of Thoreswey by fealty and the rent of one halfpenny a year. And they are worth per annum in all issues beyond reprises twenty … … [And] further the aforesaid jurors say upon their oath that the aforesaid Godfrey Fulnetby, named in the said writ, died on the 28th day of January in the 32nd year of the reign of King Henry VIII. And that John Fulnetby, gentleman, is the son and heir of the said Godfrey, and was aged on the day of the taking of this inquisition 30 years and more. And they say further that the aforesaid [Godfrey Fulnetby], named in the said writ, did not have or hold, or any other or others had or held to his use, any other or more manors, lands or tenements of the said lord king or from anyone else in the aforesaid county other than is abovesaid. In testimony of which matter, to one part of this inquisition, remaining in the hands of the aforesaid escheator, both the aforesaid escheator and the aforesaid jurors have affixed their seals. But to the other part of this inquisition, remaining in the hands of the aforesaid William Cokler, the first of the aforesaid jurors, the aforesaid escheator has affixed his seal, the day, year and place, specified in the first part of this inquisition, etc.

 

The Will of Godfrey Fulnetby

The will of Godfrey Fulnetby of Rande, 19 Dec 1540

In dei no[m]i[n]e amen in the yere of o[u]r lorde god ml
ccccc xlti and the xxxij yere of o[u]r sov[er]aig[n]e Lorde Kynge
Henry the viijth and in xix day of the monethe of
December I Godfray Fulnetby esquyer holle of
mynde gud of Remembrance and seke in body
offerythe my soull to Almyghtie god and to hys
infynett m[er]cy and to int[er]cessyon of all hys blessid
Soulles in heven [tha]t they pray to god for my
soulle [tha]t he bowght w[i]t[h] hys most p[re]cyous blode
and my body to be buried in the quere of my p[ar]yshe
churche of Sent Oswolde of Rand and wher
as of tyms dyscord dothe ryes for lake of gud
order and dyscretyon and [ther]fore willing to set
all my goodes and landes in good order for the
moste honor of god willith all my goodes te[m]p[or]all
to be orderid as here aft[er] shall followe fyrst I will
[tha]t Elisabethe my wyff shall receyv yerely for the
space of vij yeres for the behoufe of my
sone Duke and my dowghter Mary and my
dowghters Anne Barbare and Kat[er]ine xx markes
[tha]t ys for to say for ev[er]y one of them xx markes
and I wyll [tha]t my sonne Garnett shall have
of the said bequeste xx nobylles and the Resedewe
of the foresaid bequest I wyll [tha]t my executors shall
shall dypose yt aft[er] the dyscretyon for the said
chyld[er]in It[e]m I bequeth to the heihste alt[er] of my
[page 2]
Perryshe churche one cowe It[e]m I bequethe to o[u]r
Lady warke in Lincoln churche ijs It[e]m I gyff to
Robert Botyma[n] during hys lyffe xxs the wiche xxs
my wyff shall pay duringe hyr lyffe and aft[er]
hyr lyffe my sonne and heir John Fulnetby It[e]m
I gyff to Thomas Troys ij yowes
And ij la[m]mes It[e]m I gyff and bequethe all the
resedewe of my goodes not before bequethed
to Elyzabethe my wyffe and to John my sonne
whome I make my full executors for [tha]t [tha]t they
too Jointly shall pay all my dettes [tha]t I owe to
eny man lyvynge And dyscharge my fun[er]all
dyscharges And so god for hys m[er]cy have co[m]passion
upon my soull Hijs testibus Edward Fulnetby
p[res]b[ite]r and Thomas Hall p[ar]sonne of Snellande

The present will was proved before master John Pope, etc, on the 15th day of the month of September in the year of the lord 1541 at Wragby. And there was committed the administration of the goods, etc, to John Fulnetby, the executor, etc, sworn in form of law, with power of committing reserved to Elizabeth, the relict of the said deceased, etc, when she shall come and wishes, etc.