Lawrence Towneley Gent. (abt. 1540 - bef. 1598)

Born about 1540 in Lancashire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Hartley) Townley — married before 3 Jun 1563 in Lancashire, England

Descendants

Died before 19 Jan 1598 before about age 58 in Lancashire, England

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Biography

Lawrence Towneley, Gent., of Barnside and Blacko, Lancashire, was the younger son of Lawrence Towneley, Esq., of Barnside, and Helen Hesketh.^[1][2] His date and place of birth are unknown and are estimated.

Lawrence was the founder of the Stone Edge branch of the Towneley family. In 1563 he was referred to as "junior" of Barnside and in November 1564 he was of Blacko/Blacklowe (which borders Stone Edge). By 1566 Lawrence was one of the greaves of the Forest of Pendle.^[3]

In about 1590, it is thought that this Lawrence Towneley donated to the Anglican St Bartholomew's Church in Colne a font which had an octagonal basin on a clustered shaft with hollowed sides, each containing a shield. His "initials and arms occur on three of the shields".^[4]

Marriage and Children

Lawrence married Margaret Hartley, daughter of John Hartley, Gent., of Stone Edge, Lancashire.^[1][2] They were married before 3 June 1563, when Margaret was named in court as the wife of Lawrence Towneley.^[3] They had six sons and two daughters:

• Lawrence, Gent., married Jennet Halstead and had issue;^[2][3] he died before 12 February 1654/5^[1]
• Charles,^[1][2] of Foulridge Hall, married first ____, mother of his son Lawrence; married second Elizabeth Barcroft, mother of his son Charles; he was buried 11 January 1635/6^[3]
• Henry,^[1][2] born about 1571, rector of Hethel on Norfolk, made his will on 4 December 1626, buried 20 December 1626; he married Frances _____ and had issue^[3]
• John^[1][2][3]
• Robert,^[1][2] leased Foulridge on the death of his brother Charles; he was buried at Colne on 10 May 1645^[3]
• Thomas,^[1][2] minister in Norwich, buried 6 September 1623, married Susan Langforde and had issue^[3]
• Elizabeth,^[1] died unmarried;^[2] baptised at Burnley, 24 November 1562^[5] not mentioned in her father's will^[3]
• Helen,^[1] died unmarried;^[2] not mentioned in her father's will^[3]

Will

Lawrence left a will dated 5 January 1597/8 and proved 19 January 1597/8.^[1] His widow survived him as she was named in Lawrence's will^[1] along with son Lawrence as co-executors of his estate. He also named his five younger sons: Henry, Charles, John, Robert and Thomas. His inventory included debts due him from his eldest brother Henry, his next older brother Robert, his son Lawrence and his son's father-in-law, John Halstead of Windlehouse.^[3]

Research Notes

Possible Illegitimate Children

There were several Lawrence Towneleys in the Burnley area around this time. Two illegitimate children have Burnley baptism records which name a Lawrence Towneley as father, with nothing to indicate which Lawrence this was:

• Ambrosse, base son of Lawrance Townley, baptised at Burnley, 7 June, 1577^[6]
• Cornelius, base son of Lawrance Townley, baptized at Burnley, St. Peter, on 5 January 1587/8^[7]

Dates make it conceivable that Cornelius's father was Lawrence Towneley-3, son of the Lawrence of this profile, who was probably the Lawrence baptised at Burnley in 1563.^[8][9] But Cornelius's father may have been an altogether different Lawrence - neither the Lawrence of this profile nor his son.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013), vol. V, page 180, TOWNELEY 18.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9} William Dugdale. The Visitation of the County Palatine of Lancaster, made in the Year 1664-5, volume 3, Chetham Society, 1873, pp. 308-309: Towneley of Barnside; page 314: Towneley of Stonehedge.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10} Mary Burton Derrickson McCurdy. "The Townleys and Warners of Virginia and Their English Connections." in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 81, no. 3 (1973): 319-67. Accessed March 26, 2021 at JSTOR.
4. ↑ 'Townships: Colne', in A History of the County of Lancaster. Volume 6, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1911), pp. 522-536. British History Online, accessed 29 March 2021.
5. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, (FamilySearch: 18 September 2020), Lawrance Townley in entry for Elizabethe Townley, 1562.
6. ↑ "England, Lancashire, Parish Registers 1538-1910," database, (FamilySearch: 13 October 2017), Lawrance Townley in entry for Ambrosse Townley, 07 Jun 1577; citing Christening, St Peter's Church, Burnley, Lancashire, England, volume , Lancashire Record Office, Preston; FHL microfilm 1,517,689.
7. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, (FamilySearch: 18 September 2020), Lawrance Townley in entry for Cornelius Townley, 1588.
8. ↑ "England, Lancashire, Parish Registers 1538-1910," database, (FamilySearch: 13 October 2017), Lawrance Townley in entry for Lawrance Townley, 12 Apr 1563; citing Christening, St Peter's Church, Burnley, Lancashire, England, volume, Lancashire Record Office, Preston; FHL microfilm 1,517,689.
9. ↑ Ancestry.com. Lancashire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Lancashire Anglican Parish Registers. Preston, England: Lancashire Archives. Pr 3027/1/1 image.

See also:

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011), vol. IV, page 206, TOWNELEY 14.
• Roberts, Gary Boyd. The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants. (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004). Online at Ancestry.com [$], pages 416-421.
• Tracing the Towneleys 2004, published online by the Towneley Hall Society, Burnley, Lancashire. (Original manuscript written by Christopher Towneley (1604-1674), pages 37-38.
• Farrer, William Farrer and John Brownbill, eds. The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster Vol 6, Victoria County History. London: Constable & Co, 1911. Online at https://archive.org/details/cu31924088434620/page/n733/mode/2up Archive.org].

Acknowledgements

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Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project by Thiessen-117 on 27 Mar 2021 and reviewed/approved for the Project by Michael Cayley on 31 March 2021.

Lawrence Towneley Gent. is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry (vol. IV, pages 204-207 TOWNELEY) in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestors Mary Towneley and her nephews, Lawrence Townley and Edward Hoyle, to Magna Carta Surety Baron Robert de Ros. These trails were badged in March 2021 and are outlined in the Magna Carta Trails sections of the profiles of Mary Towneley and Edward Hoyle.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".