Robert Cary (abt. 1515 - 1586)

Born about 1515 in Devon, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1 Apr 1586 at about age 71 in Clovelly, Devon, England [uncertain]

Biography

Robert Cary (abt 1515-1587) was an English landowner, lawyer, administrator and politician from Devon.

Born about 1515, he was the fourth son of Robert Cary and his third wife Margaret Fulkeram. He was sent to study law at the Middle Temple in London, where his promise was noted, but once qualified seems to have practised largely in Devon.

In 1541 his father died, sharing his lands and goods out equally among the children of his three marriages. Robert inherited his estates in the north of Devon around the village of Clovelly. By 1542, when he was about 27 years old, he was married to Margaret Milliton, widow of John Gifford, of Yeo in Devon. Together, they had six sons and three daughters.

In 1547 he was appointed a justice of the peace for Devon, holding the position for life, In Oct 1553 he was elected to sit for the town of Barnstaple in the first Parliament under the Catholic Queen Mary, but was not recorded as one of those standing up for the rights of her Protestant subjects. In 1555 he served as sheriff of Devon and from 1560 on was the recorder (salaried judge) of the town of Barnstaple.

His will was made on 16 Aug 1579 and proved on 3 May 1586.^[1][2] He died on 1 Apr 1586 after catching gaol fever at the “Black Assizes” in which he had participated in the city of Exeter. He was buried beside his parents in the church of Clovelly, where his memorial was erected. His heir was his son George.

On his monument, along the full length of the cornice is inscribed in gilt capitals: Robertus Carius, Armiger, obiit An(no) Do(mini) 1586 ("Robert Cary, Esquire, died in the year of Our Lord 1586").^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
2. ↑ Crisp, Frederick. Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills (Priv. print. for F. A. Crisp, 1889) Vol. 3, Page 93
3. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Robert Carey (died 1586)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Carey_(died_1586)&oldid=906757244 (accessed October 27, 2019).

• A.D.K. Hawkyard “Carey, Robert (c.1515-87), of Clovelly and Exeter, Devon” in “The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558” ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982 http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/carey-robert-1515-87. This source incorrectly gives his death year as 1587.

• [https://archive.org/details/visitationcount02camdgoog/page/n69/mode/2up?q=helyer The visitation of the county of Devon in the year 1620

by Saint-George, Henry, Sir, 1581-1644; Lennard, Samson, d. 1633; Camden, William, 1551-1623; Colby, Frederic Thomas, 1827-1899, ed; College of Arms (Great Britain) Page 50: Cary]

The Visitations of the County of Devon referencing the Cary family of Clovelly

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=yale.39002002213917&view=1up&seq=171&skin=2021