John (Camoys) de Camoys (abt. 1320 - abt. 1363)

Born about 1320 in Trotton, Sussex, England

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Foliot) de Camoys — married 18 May 1330 in Trotton, Sussex, England

Descendants

Died about 1363 at about age 43 in Bekerton, Sussex, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Andrew Lancaster [send private message]

Biography

As laid out in the works of Douglas Richardson (newest being Royal Ancestry) John was born in or before 1320, because he was aged 30 in 1360. Also, he died between 5 May 1362 (when he appeared in a deed) and 1365/6, by which time his wife had re-married.^[1]

Doug Richardson has also made several changes to our understanding of John De Camoys. He posted online that Margaret Foliot, normally thought of as the mother of his children, could not be:^[2]

"It is known for certain that Sir Thomas Camoys' father, Sir John Camoys, married (1st) before 1330 Margaret Foliot, younger daughter of Sir Richard Foliot, Lord Foliot. Margaret was born about 1313-1314, she being aged 11 or 12 in 1325 [Reference: Complete Peerage, 5 (1926): 541-542 (sub Foliot)]. While many have believed that Margaret Foliot was the mother of Sir John Camoys' son and heir, Sir Thomas Camoys, Margaret Foliot certainly died childless. This is inferred from the fact that the entirety of Margaret's Foliot inheritance eventually passed to her sister, Margery Foliot, wife of Sir Hugh Hastings, and thence onto Margery Hastings' descendants. Research indicates that Margaret Foliot, wife of Sir John Camoys, was still living as late as 1345, when she and John conveyed the manors of Cowesly, Mosely, Brantingham, and Riplingham and the advowson of Stanfeld, all in Yorkshire Reference:^[3]

"Complete Peerage provides no further particulars regarding Sir John Camoys' life or his subsequent wife who was evidently the mother of Sir Thomas Camoys. Whoever Sir John's second wife was, she was evidently a near kinswoman of William le Latimer, K.G., 4th Lord Latimer (died 1381), whose will names her son, Sir Thomas Camoys, as his cousin [Reference: Nicolas, Testamenta Vetusta 1 (1826): 108]. As for Sir John Camoys' subsequent life, I find that in 1359 the King being on his way to the war in France gave authority in his absence to John de Camoys and others for an array of men in Norfolk. In the same year, Sir John de Camoys was directed to raise 150 archers in Norfolk for the passage of the King into France and subsequently 50 armed horse in addition [Reference: Ibid.]. Elsewhere, I have found that Sir John Camoys was living as late as 5 May 1362, when he witnessed a deed involving property in Norfolk. Thus, it would seem Sir John Camoys was a resident of Norfolk in the later period of his life. He was evidently deceased sometime before 1372, when, as stated above, his son and heir, Sir Thomas Camoys succeeded to the family estates. If Sir John Camoys was survived by a widow, she could well be the Elizabeth Camoys who was granted 50s. in 1382-3 by Earl Edward Courtenay. Besides Sir Thomas Camoys, Sir John Camoys and his second wife were presumably parents of the Hugh Camoys, esquire, who was another of the liveried personnel of Earl Edward Courtenay in 1384-5."

Richardson came to conclude that John de Camoys secondly married to Elizabeth le Latimer, who out-lived him and later married Ralph de Ufford.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Richardson, Royal Ancestry, vol.2, under CAMOYS, p.69.
2. ↑ Richardson, December 2006 post on SGM , "Complete Peerage Correction: Maud Camoys, wife of Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon", Google link.
3. ↑ The Family of Kemmis: "Camoys of Bekerton" (archive.org link - 2017 capture by the WayBack Machine, accessed 20 November 2020).
4. ↑ Richardson, September 2010 SGM thread, "Elizabeth le Latimer, wife of John de Camoys and Ralph de Ufford", google link. This explains the reasoning behind what is found in his books including Royal Ancestry (previous citation) and the older Plantagenet Ancestry which is partly online: [1].

Convenience link to other websites

• Marlyn Lewis.