Alys (Unknown) Perkins (abt. 1475 - bef. 1538)

Born about 1475 in Warwickshire, England

Wife of Thomas Perkins — married about 1500 in Hillmorton, Warwickshire, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died before 15 Oct 1538 before about age 63 in Hillmorton, Warwickshire, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Clyde Perkins [send private message]

Biography

Origins

Despite many claims, the parentage of Alys/Alice is not known. Alice Perkins is often claimed online and in unsourced secondary sources to be Alice de Astley.^[1][2][3] There is no proof found for these claims. See research notes, below.

Alice's date of birth, place of birth and parents are unknown. Her birth year is estimated to be about 1475, based on the estimated birth dates of her children (about 1500). Her birth place is also a guess: it is listed above as Hillmorton, Warwickshire, because that was the place she was buried. She may very well have been born elsewhere.

Marriage and Children

Alice married Thomas Perkins, probably about 1500 based on their children's estimated births. Exactly when and where they married is unknown.

What is known about Thomas Perkins and his wife Alys comes from their wills. Thomas left a will dated 3 April 1528 and proved 21 April 1528.^[4] Alice's will was proved 15 October 1538^[5][6] (dated 31 July 1538).^[7][8] In their wills, Thomas and Alice named their three children. By the time Alice made her will, her daughters were married.^[5] Their children were:

• Henry^[5][8]
• Joan, married ____ Sleyter^[5][8]
• Julian, married _____ Compton^[5][8]

Possible child of the couple:

• Elizabeth, who was not named in the wills of Thomas or Alice, but an unidentified Elizabeth is buried in their possible tomb at St. John the Baptist: "Here lyeth Thomas Perkins and Alice and Elizabeth"^[6]

Burial

Thomas and Alys likely died in Hillmorton, Warwickshire, where both of their wills directed burial. No burial record is found for either of them.

In St. John the Baptist Church at Hillmorton Parish, in the side aisle, on the right facing the altar, are life-sized effigies of Thomas and Edith de Astley who lived in the 14th century. According to the Vicar of St. John they are the forebears of Alice de Astley who is said to have married Thomas Perkins, whose will directed that he "be buried in the Church of St. John the Baptist before the Rood."^[6] There is no source given for which Vicar stated this and when, nor any basis for how he would have that knowledge.

Dugdale writing in the 17th century described a grave and inscription found in the Church of St. John, Hillmorton at this time. "In the middle ile of this Church are two gravestones of marble, each of them having small portraitures in brass of a man and a woman, with divers children; on one of them is this Inscription: Here lyeth Thomas Perkins and Alice and Elizabeth, Our Lord save their souls from everlasting death. Amen."^[9] This memorial, however, may refer to Thomas' grandson Thomas, who also had a wife named Alice;^[5] however they did not have a known daughter, Elizabeth.

A modern survey says that the church was extensively restored in the 18th century, the majority of the flooring is now parquet. There are no recorded floor memorials in the church today. This same survey describes the Astley effigies as "the defaced figure of a knight, probably Thomas de Astley, and a woman, probably his wife Margaret".^[10]

Will

The will of Alice Perkins of Hillmorton reads as follows:^[2][5][6]

In the name of God Amen the last day of July in the year of our Lord God MCCCCCXXXVIII. I, Alice Perkins of Hillmorton in the county of Warwick, dreading the certain hour of death being in perfect memory mind, make this my last will in manner & form following. First, I bequeath my sould unto Almighty God, my lady Saint Mary & all the Saints in heaven to pray for me. My body to be buried within the parish church of Saint John the Baptist of Hillmorton aforesaid, my mortuary in main aisle. Also I bequeath to the high altar 12d. Also to the said church of Hillmorton 6s 8d. Also to every one of my godchildren 2d. Also to Jane Sleyter my daughter a pair of flaxen sheets, a pair of hurden sheets, a flaxen table cloth, a hurden table cloth, a tawny gown, a vilet kirtle, an hairoin, 3 kerchiefs, a cow & a yearlin bullock, and also to Julia Compton my daughter a pair of flaxen sheets, a pair of hurden sheets, a flaxen table cloth, and hurden table cloth, my best gown, a birnett tawny kirtle, 3 kerchiefs, a pair of beds, a pot, a pan and my silvered harness girdle. The residue of my goods, my debts paid & my funeral expenses deducted & allowed, I give unto Henry Perkins my son whim I make my sole executor, he to dispose for the health of my sole as he thinkith best. And of this my last will I ordain and Make John Stokes, clerk, Thomas Clerk & Richard Smyth supervisors, they to see that my last will be observed, performed & kept, these being witness: John Brendon, clerk, George Dobbs, William Freman, Thomas Dunkle, & Richard Bassett with diverse others.

The inventory, dated 10 Oct. 1538, was taken by: John Brendon, Clerke, Wm. Buttye, Wm. Freman, Thomas Dunkley, Edwd Twygare, appraisers.

Amount £36 2s. Id.

Proved at Lichfield, 15 October 1538, by Henry Perkins

Research Notes

Unknown Parents

The basis for the claim Alice was born into the Astley family is unknown despite much research and is likely incorrect. There are no wills, no baptisms, no marriage records, no contemporary pedigrees and no land records to suggest that she belongs to the Astley family of Hillmorton, Warwickshire. There are only two records in which she appears - the will of her husband (where she is called Alys) and her own will (where she is called Alice). There is nothing about these wills to even slightly suggest Alice was a member of the Astley family, who were still lords of the manor of Hillmorton in the early 16th century. In fact, the opposite is true as Thomas Perkins appears to have belonged to an entirely different social class.

Specifically among the claims made, Alice has been said to be a daughter of Thomas Astley of Patshull by his wife Margaret Butler. There is no evidence that this Thomas Astley had a daughter Alice, he lived in the wrong part of England, and was much too prominent for him to have had a daughter marry to Thomas Perkins.

It is also sometimes found that she was a daughter of Robert Astley and his wife Cecily. There is no evidence to support this.

Other trees claim that she was descended from Ralph De Ashley born about 1260. The basis for this claim is unknown despite much research and is likely incorrect.

Sources

1. ↑ Hall, Kristin C.. Perkins Register Report (2004).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Perkins, D. W., comp. Notes on the Perkins Families in England. Salem, MA: 1894, p. 5. Archive.org.
3. ↑ Lewis, Marlyn. Our Royal, Titled, Noble, & Commoner Ancestors and Cousins personal website. (Alys de Astley. Last Edited 4 Apr 2020 F, page 52 #1549), b. circa 1476, d. 1538.
4. ↑ "Staffordshire, Dioceses Of Lichfield And Coventry Wills And Probate 1521-1860", database with images, FindMyPast Image - FindMyPast Transcription($): will of Thomas 1528, Hillmorton, Warwickshire. Registered wills and original wills, administrations and inventories, 1494-1860, and, act books, 1532-1638 for Diocese of Lichfield Episcopal Consistory Court.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6} Threfall, John Brooks. The Ancestry of Thomas Bradbury and his wife Mary Perkins. Madison, WI: 1988. FamilySearch.org: Perkins-32.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} Mortensen, Paula Perkins. English Origin of Six Early Colonists by the Name of Perkins. MA: Higgins Book Co., 1998, pp. 3-4. FamilySearch.org.
7. ↑ "Staffordshire, Dioceses Of Lichfield And Coventry Wills And Probate 1521-1860", database with images, FindMyPast Image - FindMyPast Transcription($): will of Alice Perkyns, 1538, Hillmorton, Warwickshire.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3} Davis, Walter Goodwin. The Ancestry of Dudley Wildes 1759-1820 of Topsfield, Massachusetts. Portland, ME: The Anthoensen Press, 1959, pp. 81-90. Archive.org
9. ↑ Dugdale, William, et al. The Antiquities of Warwickshire. London, 1656, p. 15. Archive books online
10. ↑ Warwickshire County Council, Information for record number MWA3370: Church of St John the Baptist, Hillmorton government website