Anthony Ashley Bt MP (1551 - 1628)

Born 1551 in Damerham, Wiltshire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 13 Jan 1628 at about age 77 in London, England

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Biography

Sir Anthony Ashley was a member of the aristocracy in England.

Parentage; Date and Place of Birth

Anthony Ashley, the son of Anthony Ashley of Damerham, Wiltshire and Dorothy (Lyte) Ashley, was born in 1551.^[1][2] Since his father was "of Damerham" and at least one source states that his younger brother Robert was born there,^[3] it is likely that Anthony was born at Damerham.

Career

He was educated at Middle Temple and initially he became a travelling companion for the son of Sir Christopher Hatton for whom his father had worked. Under this same patronage he entered government service, perhaps as one of Walsingham's agents. He accompanied the English expedition to Portugal ( 1589) as Royal Commisioner. He became Clerk to the Privy Council and for this role he was elected as Member of Parliament for Tavistock in 1589, Old Sarum in 1593. He joined Drake's expedition to Cadiz in 1596, once again as representative of the Crown . Following the fall of the city of Cadiz, he was knighted 'in the field' by Essex .various positions and became the first Baronet of Wimborne St Giles in 1622.^[1]

Sir Anthony used the proceeds of his government service to buy land in Dorset, buying Kinson in 1596 and what became the family estate at Wimborne St Giles from his cousin Henry soon after (by 1600).^[1]

First Marriage & Only Child

Anthony married, first, Jane (Okeover) Cokayne, the daughter of Phillip Okeover of Okeover, Staffordshire and widow of Thomas Cokayne of Ravenston Grange, Derbyshire.^[1][2]

Anthony and Jane had the following child:^[1]

1. Anne, m. before 1621 Sir John Cooper, d. July 20, 1628^[4][5]

Anne is variously described in sources as Anthony's only child^[5] or only surviving child.^[1]

Second Marriage

Anthony married, second, Phillippa Sheldon, daughter of Sir Thomas Sheldon, in 1621.^[1][6][2] Anthony and Phillippa had no children together.^[1]

Fictitious Son: William Ashley

Many family trees of Ashleys in America try to establish descent from this profile's Sir Anthony Ashley by showing that he had a son named William Ashley or William Hassell Ashley, who was then the father of Robert Ashley of Springfield, Massachusetts and/or John Ashley of Lancaster, Virginia.^[7] No reliable source, however, establishes that the father of either Robert Ashley of Springfield or John Ashley of Lancaster was named William. Moreover, no reliable evidence establishes that this profile's Sir Anthony Ashley had any children other than his daughter Ann.

Death and Burial

Sir Anthony died in London on 13 January 1627/8.^[8][1][9][2] He was buried at Wimborne St Giles, Dorset^[1][2] in a magnificent canopied tomb.^[10]

^{[5] [6] [7] [10] [8] [9] [4] [1] [2] [3]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10} History of Parliament online: ASHLEY, Anthony (1551-1628), of Holborn, London; later of Wimborne St. Giles, Dorset
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} The Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 1, Abbadie to Beadon, 1917, pp 642-3. Link to pages at ancestry.com.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} The Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 1, Abbadie to Beadon, 1917, p 644. Link to page at ancestry.com.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Cokayne, George E, Complete Baronetage, Volume 1," 1900, "John Couper," p 199
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} W.D. Christie, "A Life of Anthony Ashley Cooper, First Earl of Shaftsbury, Vol I," 1871, p 1
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} W.D. Christie, "A Life of Anthony Ashley Cooper, First Earl of Shaftsbury, Vol I," 1871, p 5
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} "William Hassell Ashley," geni.com
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} William Whiteway of Dorchester, 1618-35, Dorset Records Society, Vol 12, p 94 : (Jan 1627/8) The 13th hereof Sir Anthony Ashly died.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Cokayne, George E, Complete Baronetage, Volume 1," 1900, "Anthony Ashley," p 198-9
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} 'Plate 13: Canopied Table-Tombs', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 5, East (London, 1975), p. 13. British History Online

See also:

• "Anthony Ashley, 1st Baronet of Wimborne St Giles," wikipedia.org