David Cecil (1460 - 1541)

Born 1460 in Burleigh, Gloucestershire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Alice (Dicons) Cecil — married 1489 in Stamford, Lincolnshire, , England

Descendants

Died 1541 at about age 81 in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England

Biography

Birth and Parentage

David Cecil was the son of Richard Cecil of Alt yr Ynys, Herefordshire^[1][2][3] and Maud Vaughan.^[1] He was born in about 1460.^[1][3]

Stamford, Lincolnshire

As a younger son he did not inherit his father's estates. He served as a soldier, and then moved to Stamford, Lincolnshire.^[2] There he prospered. In 1496 he was commissioner of grains for Rutland.^[1] He was a member of the Second Twelve of Stamford by 1500, and of the First Twelve (the governing body of the town) by 1503.^[1] He was an Alderman in 1504-5, 1515-6 and 1526-7.^[1] He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Stamford in 1594, 1510, 1512, 1515 and 1523.^[1]

Courtier; Appointments

His godfather was Sir David Philip, who was one of Henry VII's squires of the body and also a senior officer in the household of Henry VII's mother.^[2] The two men were close, and he was an executor of David Philip's will.^[2] Through David Philip's influence David Cecil did well as a courtier. In 1506 they were joint keepers of the royal park at King's Cliff, Northamptonshire.^[1][2] In or before that year David Cecil became a Yeoman of the royal Chamber.^[1] Other appointments included being bailiff and steward of several manors in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire^[1] From 1513 he was a Serjeant0at-Arms.^[1] He was escheator for Northamptonshire and Rutland in 1514-5 and of Lincolnshire in 1529/30.^[1] In 1532 he became a Justice of the Peace for Rutland, and he was Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1532-3.^[1]

Marriages and Children

David married twice. His first wife was Alice Dicons, daughter of John Dicons of Stamford, Lincolnshire.^[1][2] They had two sons, including:

• Richard^[1][2]

His second wife was Joan or Jane, daughter of Thomas Roos of Dowsby, Lincolnshire^[1][2] and widow of Edward Villers of Flore, Northamptonshire.^[1] They had one daughter:

• Joan^[2]

Death, Burial and Will

He may have died on 14 September 1540. His son Richard was the executor of his will, which was dated 25 January 1535, was was granted probate on 16 March 1541.^[1] He was buried at St George's, Stamford, Lincolnshire.^[1]

In his will, David left ^[4]

• his lands to his second wife for her life, with them passing to his son Richard on her death
• the plate which she had brought him on their marriage to his wife, along with "twenty kine and a bull"
• his best gown and two feather beds to his son Richard
• £20 and half the household goods at Dowsby and Nassington to his daughter Joan
• two feather beds, a gown, a doublet and jacket, and his green coats to his son David
• his second best gown, his best doublet and his velvet jacket to Anthony Villiers
• the remainder of his goods to his son Richard

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 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18} History of Parliament Online: entry for CECIL DAVID, (c.1460-?1540), of Stamford, Lincs David Cecil (c.11460-?1540) [1]
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} Stephen Alford. Burghley. William Cecil at the Court of Elizabeth I, Yale University Press, 2011, genealogical table 1 and p. 6-8
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Wikipedia: David Cecil (courtier)
4. ↑ Nicholas Harris Nicholas. Testamenta Vetusta, Vol. II, Nichols and Son, London, 1826, pp. 690-691. Archive.org

• Metcalfe, Walter. The visitations of Northamptonshire. 1887. Pg. 78. Archive.org. [2]
• Chalmers, Alexander. The General biographical dictionary. 1812. Pg. 3. Archive.org. [3]
• Jewitt, Llewellynn. The reliquary and illustrated archaeologist. 1860. Pg. 55. Archive.org. [4]
• Peck, Francis. Academia Tertia Anglicana. 1727. Pg. 69. Google Books. [5]
• https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/cecil-richard-1495-1553
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Cecil_(courtier)
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C%C3%A9notaphe_de_Richard_Cecil_circa_1553_%C3%A9glise_Saint-Martin_Stamford_04.jpg
• History of Parliament Online: entry for [CECIL DAVID, (c.1460-?1540), of Stamford, Lincs David Cecil (c.11460-?1540)]
• Alford, Stephen. Burghley. William Cecil at the Court of Elizabeth I, Yale University Press, 2011