Joan (FitzWilliam) Furneaux (abt. 1180 - abt. 1218)

Born about 1180 in Ashington, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Wife of Henry (Furneaux) de Furneaux — married 1209 in Ashington, Somerset, England

Descendants

Died about 1218 at about age 38 in Ashington, Somerset, England

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Biography

Name and Parents

Joan FitzWilliam is the name that appears in some popular genealogies ^[1] . Her father was Robert FitzWilliam, and referring to her by this name suggests that the patronymic has been treated as a surname.

Many older references simply refer to her as an unnamed daughter, or the second daughter, of Robert FitzWilliam and the wife of Henry de Furnellis or Furneaux. ^[2]

Joan was the daughter and coheiress of Robert Fitzwilliam. ^[3]

Joan was the daughter of Robert Fitz-William. ^[4]

Robert FitzWilliam, born, say 1150, was in turn a son of William FitzRobert, born, say 1125, who in turn was a son of Robert de Pirou. ^[5]

Robert FitzWilliam was mentioned as a former tenant of the Manor of Furnax or Avenel's Fee in Warminster, Wiltshire, in a lawsuit of 1243. ^[6]

1180 Birth Year Estimation

Her birth year is unknown; her father's birth year has been estimated as, say, 1150, and adding 30 years for an additional generation would place her birth as, say, 1180. Some popular genealogies give her birth year as 1181, without further attribution. ^[1]

Her birth place is unknown. Popular genealogies ^[1] give a birth place of Ashington, Somerset. This is not unreasonable, since the manor of Ashington was in her father's possession. However, other manors also were in his possession at that time.

Siblings

it appears that Joan's two sisters were wives of Nicholas AVENEL, and of James son of Gerard, and that the three husbands held also in chief, by service of one knight’s fee, Childeton and Sepewass Manors in Devon, given by the Conqueror to ancestors of their wives.^[7]

Joan was one of three sisters and no brothers; Robert left three daughters and coheirs.

1. Daughter #1, born, say, 1175, married Nicholas Avenel. Robert's Warminster property passed to this daughter's husband, Nicholas Avenel, ^[8]who held it in 1242–3. ^[9] His relationship to the Nicholas Avenel, who married Mabel Malet and was dead by November 1223, is not clear. ^[10] The second Nicholas Avenel died c. 1246, ^[11]and was succeeded by his son William who died without issue in 1253.
2. Joan was Daughter #2^[12] She was born, say, 1180, and married Henry de Furneaux. ^[2]
3. Daughter #3 not mentioned. ^[12]

1186 Inheritance

Joan's father Robert died about 1186. ^[13] The estimated dating (and the absence of their actual names in many references) suggests that Joan and her sisters had not reached majority at the time. At this point it is not known what became of the property between their father's death and their marriages.

“Devon 1212 . . . . Henricus de Fornell' et Nicholaus Avenell' et Jacobus filius Gerardi tenent in capite de domino rege Childetun' et Sepewass per servicium jus [1] militis de dono Regis Willelmi primi antecessoribus uxorum predictorum Henrici et Nicholai et Jacobi per predictum servicium.”[translated as - Henry de Fornellis and Nicholas AVENELLIS and James son of Gerard, hold in capite of the king, Childeton and Sepewass by the service of one knight’s fee, given by King William the first (the Conqueror) to the ancestors of the wives of the aforesaid Henry and Nicholas and James by the service.] ^[14]

Two of the properties in Robert's possession were Ashington and Kilve.

Ashington Manor, Somerset

Ashington Manor was one of the many which William the Conqueror bestowed upon Roger de Curcelle; it is written in Domesday Essentone, and in modern records Aslington, Ashenden, and Ashington. ^[13]

Soon afterwards the Estate was in the possession of the family of Fitzwilliam; for Robert of that name died seised of it 32 Henry II (1186), from which family, in the reign of King John, it passed by inheritance to that of de Furnellis, or Furneaux; and from the latter to the St. Barbes, about the year 1400 ^[13]

Ashington . . . . For 15 Joh. [1213-1214] Henry de Furnellis paid a fine to the King, that a reasonable partition might be made of the lands which he claimed in right of Joan his wife, daughter and coheir of Robert Fitz-William. {Rot. Pip. 15 Joh.} NOTE: What appears to be the fine, appears on page 567 of “Rotuli de Oblatis et Finibus in Turri Londinensi asservati, Tempore Regis Johannis” (1835). It is in Latin and he appears as Henr’ de Furnell’, the fine is xl. sol’ [40 shillings] and there is no apparent mention of Joan or Ashington. ^[15]

Kilve, Somerset

Kilve is a village in the west of Somerset County. It had been held by Beorhtric and in 1086 by Roger de Courcelles. The church is St. Mary's. His estates passed mostly to the Malet family who became overlords, but a tenancy was established in the early 12th century, held by Robert de Pirou.^[16] The tenancy of Kilve was held later by Robert de Pirou's grandson, Robert, son of William. ^[16]

At Robert's death...Robert's heirs were his three daughters. The usual disputes followed, and Kilve was held by the Furneaux family, then the Avenels, then the Furneaux again who remained in possession until the failure of the male line in 1359. Thus Matthew de Furneaux was granted a market and a fair in 1296, and Simon de Furneaux established a chantry of five chaplains there in 1329.^[16]

Marriage

Joan married Henry de Furnellis ^[4]

Joan married Henry de Furnellis, Furneux, or Furneaux ; dead in 1216. ^[3]

Joan, the second of Robert FitzWilliam's daughters, married Henry de Furneaux or de Furnellis. ^[2]

The year of marriage is unknown. A common estimation formula would add 18 years to her birth year; if born 1181, her marriage might be estimated as 1199. Given the possibility that her father died during her minority, it is also possible that her marriage was contracted during her childhood, and was consummated later.

1218 Death

She died in 1218 in Ashington, Somersetshire, England^[1]

Issue

Joan and Henry had a child Henry de Furneux. ^[4]

1. Matthew de Furneaux. Their son, Matthew de Furneaux, was born about 1215 and they were the ancestors of Matthew de Furneaux, ^[17]. who was the heir of William Avenel, above, who died without issue in 1253. This Matthew was dead by 1284–5, (fn. 153) and was succeeded by another Matthew.

The pedigree of this family in Cussans, Hist. Herts. Edwinstree Hundred, 138, is apparently incorrect. If Hen. de Furneaux died in 1214 his son Matthew must have been of age by 1235, when he was engaged in a lawsuit: Sir H. C. Maxwell Lyte, Some Somerset Manors (Som. Rec. Soc. extra series), 316. Yet a second Matthew, who was under age in 1243, was said to be the son of Hen. de Furneaux: ibid. It seems more likely that Nicholas had the wardship of two successive Matthews, and the document quoted by Maxwell Lyte refers to the first. The succession would then be 1. Henry d. 1214, 2. Matthew d. 1235–43, 3. Matthew, aged 28–29 in 1253, and so under age in 1243. Cited by 'Warminster: Manors', in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 8, Warminster, Westbury and Whorwellsdown Hundreds (London, 1965), pp. 96-103. ^[18]They were the ancestors of Matthew de Furneaux, ^[17] who was the heir of William Avenel, above, who died without issue in 1253. This Matthew was dead by 1284–5, (fn. 153) and was succeeded by another Matthew.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} OneWorldTree. Ancestry.com
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} The pedigree of this family in Cussans, Hist. Herts. Edwinstree Hundred, 138, is apparently incorrect. If Hen. de Furneaux died in 1214 his son Matthew must have been of age by 1235, when he was engaged in a lawsuit: Sir H. C. Maxwell Lyte, Some Somerset Manors (Som. Rec. Soc. extra series), 316. Yet a second Matthew, who was under age in 1243, was said to be the son of Hen. de Furneaux: ibid. It seems more likely that Nicholas had the wardship of two successive Matthews, and the document quoted by Maxwell Lyte refers to the first. The succession would then be 1. Henry d. 1214, 2. Matthew d. 1235–43, 3. Matthew, aged 28–29 in 1253, and so under age in 1243. Cited by 'Warminster: Manors', in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 8, Warminster, Westbury and Whorwellsdown Hundreds (London, 1965), pp. 96-103. British History Online accessed 9 March 2018 jhd
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Joseph Jackson Howard. “Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica” Third Series (1900) Vol. III. page 272-273. Cited by Grantley Hutchins. Grantley's rellies Joan Updated Nov 18 2017. Accessed 5/2/2019 jhd
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Grantley Hutchins. Grantley's rellies Joan Updated Nov 18 2017. Accessed 5/2/2019 jhd
5. ↑ Darley Cart. ed. Darlington, pp. iii, 412. Cited by 'Warminster: Manors', in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 8, Warminster, Westbury and Whorwellsdown Hundreds (London, 1965), pp. 96-103. British History Online accessed 9 March 2018 jhd
6. ↑ K.B. 26/128 rot. 11. Cited by 'Warminster: Manors', in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 8, Warminster, Westbury and Whorwellsdown Hundreds (London, 1965), pp. 96-103. British History Online accessed 9 March 2018 jhd
7. ↑ “ Testra de Nevill,” p. 194, fo. 837, Cited by Joseph Jackson Howard. “Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica” Third Series (1900) Vol. III. page 272-273. Futher Cited by Grantley Hutchins. Grantley's rellies Joan Updated Nov 18 2017. Accessed 5/2/2019 jhd
8. ↑ Misc. Gen. et Her. 3rd ser. iii. 272–3; all 3 coheirs and their husbands held Robert's Devonshire property in 1212 (Bk. of Fees, 96) Cited by Warminster Manors.
9. ↑ Bk. of Fees, 717, 737. Cited by Warminster Manors
10. ↑ Sanders, English Baronies, 39. Cited by Warminster Manors.
11. ↑ Ex. e Rot. Fin. (Rec. Com.), ii. 2. Cited by Warminster Manors.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} 'Warminster: Manors', in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 8, Warminster, Westbury and Whorwellsdown Hundreds (London, 1965), pp. 96-103. British History Online accessed 9 March 2018 jhd
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} The Gentleman’s Magazine, July 1820. Volume 90, Part 2: Volume 128, p. 17. Accessed March 8, 2018 jhd
14. ↑ As per “Liber Feodorum. The Book of Fees commonly called Testra de Nevill” Part I. A.D. 1198-1242. by the Deputy Keeper of the Records (1920) page 96; Cited by Grantley Hutchins. Grantley's rellies Joan Updated Nov 18 2017. Accessed 5/2/2019 jhd
15. ↑ John Collinson (1741), “The History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset” (1741) Vol. III. page 213 Cited by Cited by Grantley Hutchins. Grantley's rellies Joan Updated Nov 18 2017. Accessed 5/2/2019 jhd
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2} The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland St Mary Kilve Accessed 3 December 2023.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} Cal. Inq. p.m. i, p. 71; Close R. 1253–4, 8. Cited by Warminster Manors
18. ↑ British History Online accessed 9 March 2018 jhd

Acknowledgments

• Thanks to Blain Mercer for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Blain and others.
• This person was created through the import of Smith-Hunter.ged on 10 March 2011. The following data was included in the gedcom. You may wish to edit it for readability.
• Thank you to Terry Blackmore for creating Fitzwilliam-222 on 20 Oct 13.