William Eaton (abt. 1535 - bef. 1581)

Born about 1535 in of Dover, Kent, England

Husband of Jane (Unknown) Eaton — married 1566 in Dover, Kent, England

Descendants

Died before 28 Dec 1581 before about age 46 in Dover, Kent, England

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Biography

William Eaton, of Dover, co. Kent

Name

Name: William Eaton ^[1]

of Dover, co. Kent, England

Other spellings in primary records: Eton, Etton

Birth

Born: Say 1535

This a rough estimate based on his first child probably being born in 1559 and his being married by say 1558.

Coat of arms

Eaton of Dover: Quarterly, 1 & 4: Or, a fret azure; 2 & 3: Gules, 2 bars ermine. ^[2]

Quarterly, 1 & 4, Or, a fret azure; 2 & 3, Gules, 2 bars ermine.

Multiple monuments at St. Mary's in Dover display these arms or more simply just the Or, a fret azure for Eaton. ^[3] It is not completely certain that William Eaton bore these arms though it is extremely likely. They are the same as those of Eyton of Eyton on the Wildmores, Shropshire suggesting 1. that the Eatons of Dover, Kent are a cadet branch the Eytons of Shropshire and 2. the arms derived centuries before this William Eaton lived. The will of William Eaton was sealed with a heraldic wax seal, the remnants of which still remain, but which has degraded to the point where the impression can no longer be seen.^[2]

Notes

Most of what is known of William Eaton derives from his will and that of his wife. ^{[4] [5]} A merchant, he settled at Dover, Kent, one of the Cinque Ports, and the chief port of entry from the Continent. The will indicates he was well educated, written in his own hand, and that he had interests well beyond the town of Dover. He owned houses at Dunkirk, in Flanders, and in the Spanish Netherlands, so it is possible he also lived abroad for some time.

Marriage and Children

William and Jane Eaton were married about 1558. This is a rough estimate based on the estimated birth of their first child in c1559. ^[1]

• Joyce Eaton. Born say 1559. Named as eldest daughter, and presumably eldest child based on the wills of her parents. Given that she had a sister born in 1561 and a brother born 1562-1563, 1559 is the best estimate of her birth. She married James Hugesson by 27 August 1584 when her mother made her will. She died before 26 September 1625 when James remarried.

• Susanna Eaton. Presumed child. She was bp. 6 July 1561 at St. Mary, Dover with no mention of parent names. No further records. If she was a child of William Eaton,she was dead by 1581 when he made his will.

• William Eaton. Born about 1562. He married Annys Brett. Died after 28 March 1609.

• Barbara Eaton. Born say 1564 m. by 27 Jan. 1584/5 John Allen.

• John Eaton. Born say 1566. Named in wills of mother and fathers; no further record.

• Peter Eaton. Born say 1568, died between 1623 and 1626. He married [by license] 27 January 1603/4, St. Mary the Virgin, Dover, ELIZABETH (—) PATTERSON, widow, of St. Mary, Dover. She was buried at St. Mary 8 January 1631/2.

• Nicholas Eaton. Born in 1572. Buried at St. Mary, Dover, 21 March 1636/7. He married, first, 2 November 1596, at Dover, Katherine Masters, who was dead by 1626. He married second, license date 26 July 1626, to be at St. Margaret's, Canterbury, Joan Tidderman, who was buried at St. Mary, Dover 14 June 1635, widow of John Gibbs,

Death and Will

Death: Between 24 October 1581 and 28 December 1581.

(Dates his will was made and then his inventory taken.)

The will of William Etton [sic, Eaton] was dated 24 October 1581 and proved 1 January 1581/2. A marginal note indicates that his inventory totaled £52.17.4. Comparing this to his widow, and considering the oversees property, this grossly undervalues his estate. The preamble of the inventory of William Eaton, of Dover, read: ^{[4] [6]}

An Inventory Inventid made and taken the xviijth daie of december 1581 of the goods chattells which were William Eatons of Dover mrchant deceased praysed by Thomas Middleton and William Rere Appraysers appoynted for the same

The inventory is not as complete as his widow’s inventory, and is apparently undervalued. In his will, William Eaton stated that he desired to be buried within the church of St. James, Dover, but the wording indicates that the resided in the other parish, St. Mary.

In the name of God Amen The xxiiij day of the monethe of October in the yere of or lord god 1581 I William Etton of the Towne and Porte of Dover merchaunt Being in whole and perfect remembraunce laud and prayse be geven to god do ordayne and make this my last will and Testament in maner and forme following Fyrst I comende my Soule to Almightie god as yt be do become every Christen man And my bodye ^ [(SUPERSCRIPT:) as earthe] to the earthe to be buryed in St Jeames Churche or in the p[ar]ishe where I nowe dwell when I do departe this world at the discretion of my wyfe and executors,

It[e]m I geve to the pore people of the p[ar]ishe wher I shalbe buryed xxs. To be geven and distributed unto the pore at the day of my buryall by my executors.

It[e]m I geve and bequeathe to my eldest daughter Josen [Joyce] Etton the som [i.e., sum] of ten poundes starling [sterling].

It[e]m I geve and bequeathe to my other iiij sonnes That is to saye William John Peter and Nicholas Etton to every one of them the Som of xxvli. starling

It[e]m I do geve to my other daughter Barbaraw [sic] Etton the Som of xxvli. Starling and the somes of mony to be paid unto them when they do come to the age of xxj yeres and not before

And yf that any of them do happen to dye or [i.e., ere (before)] they do come to that age Then I will all suche money or goodes as he shoulde have had when he camento [came unto] age that his parte shalbe distributed among the other v children eyther of them his equall porc[i]on.

And as for all suche plate and other as lynne beding bedsteds cobbarde tapestrye wt cushens pillows wt tyn and brasse withall other ymplements my will is that they shalbe preysed by two indifferent men And the one halfe therof to Remayne to the behalf of my wyfe

furder [further] I do will and bequeathe all my houses and Tenenements [sic, tenements] that I have standing in the Towne of Dunkirk and without the Towne that my wyfe shall have the one half therof and my children the other half amongest them according to the use and custome of that country

furder it is my will that my wyfe have and enioye [i.e., enjoy] all that my Ten[ements] and houses with the money of the said children till suche tyme as they do come to age

And that my wyfe shall have the bringing up of my said children in good and goodly learning according to the discretion of my executors

furder it is my will that if my wyfe do marrye agayne that then she hsall with her husbande put in suretyes to the mayor and Juratts of Dovor that she and her husbande that then shalbe ther executors or assignes shal iustly [i.e., justly] and truly observe p[er]forme delyver paye and accomplishe all and all maner of my said legacyes and bequeathes in forme aforesaid according to the true meaning hereof

furder I will and bequeathe all suche quarter & half quarter of the lyme kyle that I and mr michell have together wt Anthony van dene standing in mr Lucas yarde at the peare that my wyfe shall kepe that and ever enioye the same towards the keping of her houses and children that be now unmaryed And that she shall kepe the same burning wt mr michell so long as they do kep so profyte theron

In witnes wherof I have written this with myne owne hand and have set to my Seale the day and yere abovewritten

furder I do make my wyfe my executrix

And I do make to be Overseers hereof Edmund michell Thomas Bradegate and Thomas watson to whom I do geve to every one of the said Overseers for ther paynes [i.e., pains] the Som of xxs starling

and this is my last will and Testament In witnes as abovewritten I have set my hand and Seale the xxiiij of October 1581 By me William Etton thelder /

Witnes hereof Thomas watson Edmund muchell / ~

Research Notes

The following is an account of the current research and thinking of the Eaton family of Dover, co. Kent, England. It begins with William Eaton or Etton, the grandfather of several Great Migration immigrants. Any such discussion must begin with errors in the published record which have been widely copied on internet family trees. Based on heraldry, it is assumed that the Eaton family must connect to the ancient family of Eyton of Eyton-on-the-Weald-Moors, Shropshire.^[7] However, the Eaton family has been extensively studied by many preeminent genealogists, yet all have failed to prove the connection to the Shropshire Eyton family. The Eaton Family Association in the late 19th century, as led by Daniel C. Eaton, initially hired Mrs. Minima Harmon, an experienced researcher who led the search through the English records across multiple counties. This led in 1888 to the discovery that John Eaton, as will be seen, was from Dover, co. Kent. In 1889, the association hired Dr. Joseph Jackson Howard, Maltravers Herald Extraordinary and longtime editor of Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica. In 1939, Mrs. F W Edmondson hired Sir Anthony Wagner, later Garter Principal King of Arms and Alfred Trego Butler (1880-1946), Windsor Herald, the foremost genealogists and heralds of their day, to investigate the Eatons of Dover. More recently Paul C. Reed, F.A.S.G. was hired to investigate the English ancestry of the Eatons; much of this report is based upon his unpublished investigation. And finally, in 2006 the Eaton Family Association commissioned an investigation by Robert Noel, current Lancaster Herald to look into the records held at the College of Arms.

The first of the name to be found at Dover is William^B Eaton who was likely born about 1530-40, as it appears his eldest child was born about 1559. It has been claimed, and this claim widely followed, that this William was the son of another William, and he the son Henry Eyton of Eyton, Shropshire by his wife Jane Cressett. This claim was first put in print in 1911 by Nellie Zada Rice Molyneux in his History Genealogical and Biographical of the Eaton Families. ^[8]It is here that the connection between the Eatons of Dover, co. Kent and the Eytons of Eyton, Shropshire must be severed. Simply put, there is no evidence in favor of this descent and the evidence which does exist refutes it.

Still, the heraldry tells us that the Eatons of Dover are almost certainly a branch of the Eytons of Shropshire. The Eytons were an ancient and well known family in Shropshire whose ancestry has been traced back to the 12th century. The Eytons held at least seven manors of the barony of Wem, and were seated at Eyton upon the Weald Moors, near Wellington, in Shropshire. They served as knights, sheriffs, members of Parliament, and were hereditary verderers of the king’s forest in Shropshire. The arms of the Eyton family were: Quarterly, 1 & 4, Or, a fret azure [Eyton]; 2 & 3, Gules, 2 bars ermine [Pantulf]. These are similar to, or exactly the same as, those of the Eaton family of Dover. The monuments to the Eaton family in St. Mary’s Church in Dover are: Quarterly, 1 & 4, Or, a fret azure [Eyton]; 2 & 3, Barry of six ermine and gules. Other monuments show just the Eaton fret. Based on this heraldry, the assumption is that William Eaton must have been from a cadet branch of Eytons of Shropshire.

The 2003 investigation of Paul C. Reed rejects the possibility that William Eaton^B of Dover was the son another William Eaton and grandson Henry Eyton as stated by Molyneux. It does so based on two arguments. First, and most importantly, in 100 hundred years of research by professional genealogists looking at the original records, no supporting evidence has ever been found in the primary documents. There is no will, no pedigree, no descent of land, and no merchant record which makes William a son of anyone, much less a member of the Eyton family of Shropshire. Secondly, in the printed version of the Visitation of Shropshire in 1623, Henry Eyton is given a son William, however, this son is explicitly stated to have died without issue. ^[7] This supported by the Visitation of Essex in 1558 which also states that William died without issue. ^[9] The information on the “Etton” family was given to the herald by Robert Etton/Eyton (younger son of Henry Eyton). As seventh son (with personal reason to be interested in the order of birth of the male sons), one might expect that Robert’s visitation account—which he gave himself—would tend to be accurate in its statement that John (2nd son), Roger (6th), Fowlke (9th) and William Etton (10th) sons of Henry Etton by Jane Cressett all died without issue.

The 2006 report by Robert Noel, Lancaster Herald of the original Visitations and pedigrees at the College of Arms, while generally agreeing with the conclusions of Paul Reed, does raise a couple of interesting points which were previously unknown.^[2] Two official pedigrees of the Hugessen family (from c1800) in the college of arms refer to our merchant as "Mr William Eaton of the County of Salop." This is the first real evidence that the Eaton family of co. Kent in fact derived from Shropshire. Secondly, the actual Visitation records are a bit more complicated than the printed versions suggest. While the 1558 Visitation of Essex does state that Henry Eyton did have a “William, 10th son--without issue,” both the 1570 Visitation of Essex and the 1614 Visitation of Essex actually give Henry two sons named William, neither of whom are said to have died without issue. The other sons, namely John, Richard Lewis, Nicholas, Roger, Edward and Fulk, all have this designation raising the possibility that the 1558 Visitation pedigree is in error (transcriptional error?) in saying that William died without issue. The 1623 Visitation of Shropshire does not actually contain the names of any of these sons of Henry but have been added by the editors in the printed version (apparently using the 1558 Visitation of Essex). All this raises again the possibility that Henry Eyton could have had a son William who was the father our William Eaton of Dover. But again, no evidence has been found to support this assertion.

Common Errors to Avoid

1. In early secondary sources he was identified as the son of William Eaton and a grandson of Henry Eyton of Shropshire. This has been disproved. His ancestry is unknown.

2. His wife is often called Jane Hussey. This is likely the result of a misinterpretation of the heraldry. She is not a Hussey and her ancestry is unknown.

Sources

Footnotes and citations:

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Reed, Paul C. F.S.A.G. The English Ancestry of John¹ Eaton, of Dover, Kent, and Dedham, Massachusetts. Research report commissioned by Joe Cochoit and the Eaton Family Association (2003). Available on the Eaton Family Association website (paid).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Robert Noel, Lancaster Herald. College of Arms Report on William Eaton or Etton of Dover, Merchant, as prepared for the Eaton Family Association. (London: privately prepared, 2006). Available on the Eaton Family Association website (paid).
3. ↑ Epitaphs from Kent Churches: Some Monumental Inscriptions of Dover, St Mary's Church, Noted by Bax & Rice Thursday 12th May 1892. Online copy of a manuscript kept at the Kent Archaeological Society.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Consistory Court of Canterbury, Registered Wills, Liber 34 [1579-82], f. 177.
5. ↑ Consistory Court of Canterbury, Registered Wills, Liber 35, f. 116.
6. ↑ Consistory Court of Canterbury, Inventories, etc., 1580-1, f. 130 [FHL film #189,242].
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} See, Grazebrook, George and John Paul Rylands. Visitation of Shropshire, taken in the year 1623 part I, (London: Harleian Society Visitation Series vol. 28, 1889):180-182, Eyton pedigree.
8. ↑ Molyneux, Nellie Zada Rice. History Genealogical and Biographical of the Eaton Families, (Syracuse, NY, 1911):101. Caution: Many errors in this source.
9. ↑ Metcalfe, Walter C. Visitations of Essex by Hawley, 1552; Hervey, 1558; Cooke, 1570; Raven, 1612; and Owen and Lilly, 1634. To which are added Miscellaneous Essex Pedigrees from Various Harleian Manuscripts: and an Appendix containing Berry's Essex Pedigrees vol. I. (London: Harleian Society Visitation Series vol. 13, 1878):51, 192.

Source list:

• Reed, Paul C. F.S.A.G. The English Ancestry of John¹ Eaton, of Dover, Kent, and Dedham, Massachusetts. Research report commissioned by Joe Cochoit and the Eaton Family Association (2003). Available on the Eaton Family Association website (paid).