William Wentworth (abt. 1525 - 1574)

Born about 1525 in Waltham, Lincolnshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Ellen (Gilby) Wentworth — married 1551 in Lincolnshire, England

Descendants

Died 22 May 1574 at about age 49 in Waltham, Lincolnshire, England

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Biography

William Wentworth was born about 1532 in Waltham, co. Lincs. He was the son of:

• Oliver Wentworth
• and Isabel Soothill.

Marriage

William married twice.

Gilby

William married his first wife Ellen Gilby between 1548 and 1552. She was the widow of William Femers, and the daughter of:

• John Gilby
• and Agnes Brough of West Ravendale.

Ayscough

William remarried about 1562 to Anne Ayscough. Her father was Edward Ayscough of Stallingbrough, co. Lincs. Anne was a two-time widow. She was previously married to:

1. Thomas Portington of Sawcliffe in Roxby, co. Lincs.
2. and William Burgh of Kirton-in-Lindsey, and daughter

Will

• Date: 16 May 1574
• Proved: 24 May 1574

• refers to himself as gentleman
• to the poor
• to my wife anne
• to my hostis [sic] Jennet Smythe
• to Sylvester Fenbie my bastard. [NOTE: No other record of him has been found]
• to my servant Elizabeth Winscallen
• to Jane Stubbes and George Stubbes
• to John Herysson
• to Heline Bygotte
• to James Herysson
• to Raphe Goldwell
• Edmund Skerne esquire to bring up my oldest son Thomas
• Garret Suttyll esquire to bring up younger son Cristopher

Death

William Wentworth died on 22 May 1574 at Goxhill, co. Lincs., and was buried in the parish of Market rasen, co. Lincs. on, 29 May 1574.^[1]

He was survived by his wife Anne.

William's Inq. Pm. is dated 22 May 1574.

Notes

• (XVIII) William (d. 22 May 1574),^[2] son of Oliver Wentowrth (17),
• also settled finally in Waltham, Lincolnshire,
• prob. bur. North Elmsall.
• He left only two sons, both in their minority:

1. Oliver (dvp), mentioned in grandfather's will.
2. Thomas (b. 1554).

• Christopher Wentworth, son of William Wentworth (18), was born probably in 1556; married, August 19, 1583, at the church of St. Peter, at Gowts, in the city of Lincoln, Catherine, youngest daughter of William Marbury Esq., of Girsby, in the parish of Burgh-upon-Main, Lincolnshire, by his wife Agnes, daughter of John Lenton. One of her younger brothers was Rev. Francis Marbury, whose daughter Anne married William Hutchinson and became afterwards the famous religious leader in New England. Christopher seems to have been constantly changing his residence, the baptisms of his eight children have taken place in five different places. His will was dated December 8, 1628, at Barrow, a village near Goxhill, the seat of his ancestor, but it was not proved until May 15, 1633, and then at Alford, forty miles distant. Children: 1. William; mentioned below. 2. Anne, baptized at Ireby, Lincolnshire, October 28, 1585; married Rev. John Lawson. 3. Faith, baptized at Great Grimsby, May 14, 1587. 4. Elizabeth, baptized at Ireby, Augugst 15, 1589; married John Winne. 5. Frances, baptized at Ireby, November 8, 1590. 6. Francis, baptized at Conisholm, May 24, 1593, died young. 7. Priscilla, baptized june 14, 1594; married September 1, 1619, William Holmes. 8. Christopher, baptized at Waltham, February 27, 1596-97, died young.^[3][4][5]

• The Wentworth genealogy, comprising the origin of the name, the family in England, and a particular account of Elder William Wentworth, the emigrant, and of his descendants (1870)^[6]

• XVIII. William Wentworth, who also settle finally at Waltham, though his children were not baptized, nor was he himself buried there.
• His will was dated on the 16 May, 1574, and was proved at Lincoln, on the 24th of the same month.
• He described himself as of Waltham, and a "Gentleman"; but, as the Register of that parish, which is perfect, contains no record of his burial, it is to be presumed that he also was carried to North Elmsall, and laid with his ancestors. As there are no early Registers of that parish, and the transcripts in the Bishop's Registry at York do not begin till about 1600, it will probably be impossible ever to determine this and similar points with certainty.
• According to an inquisition post mortem at the Public Record Office in London, he died on the 22d of May, 1574, and evidently in early like, as his brother Francis survived him some thirty-seven years. He left only two sons, both in their minority, the son Oliver, mentioned in his grandfather's will, having died between 1558 and 1574. According to the inquisition referred to, the eldest son Thomas was then aged upwards of twenty years, and was therefore born in1554. He is never again heard of, nor mentioned in the wills of any of his relatives; and as his younger brother evidently succeeded to his property, it may be safely assumed that he died before 1610, and without leaving issue.
• As the inquisition post mortem mentioned is a fair illustration of an ancient legal proceeding, abolished more than two hundred years ago, and as it moreover contains a rare example of the customs of "gavelkind" and "borough-English," a free translation from the original Latin may prove interesting. The inquisition was taken at Horncastle, in Lincolnshire (where the official Escheator chanced to live), on the 16 August, 1574, and was of William Wentworth, late of Waltham, Gentleman, who was found to be in his lifetime seized in demesne as of fee of two messuages, 100 acres of land, 20 of meadow, and 30 of pasture, etc., in Waltham, purchased of George Gilby; one messuage being in the tenure of Thomas Gilby and Andrew Wilson, and the other in the tenure of John Paynter, late the possession of John Hyde and another by the gift of King Henry VIII. [evidently some portion of the possessions wrenched by that monarch from some abbey or monastery]: the first mentioned messuage and the land in Waltham are held in socage of Edmund Skerne, Esq., as of his manor of Waltham, and by the custom of the said manor descend to the younger son, and are worth L10 per annum; and the last mentioned messuage is held of the Queen by fealty only, and is worth ten shillings and four pence per annum; also of one messuage and certain land in Winterton, held of the Queen as of her manor of Kirton, in gavelkind, which descend to Thomas Wentworth and Christopher Wentworth as two sons and one heir ["ut duobus filiis et uni heredi"], and are worth l5 per annum. The Escheator also found that the said William Wentworth died on the preceding 22 d day of May, and that Thomas Wentworth was his son and next heir, and was aged, at the date of the inquisition, twenty years, three months and upwards.^[7]

• By a comparison of this with similar documents of the period, it is clear that William Wentworth, though entitled by his ancient descent to call himself and to be officially recognized as a "Gentleman", and though evidently able to take rank among the small gentry of a country neighborhood, was by no means a great landed proprietor, nor indeed a man of very large means. The leasehold of two hundred acres of land at the most, and a few houses of small value, seem to have been the extent of his possessions.
• The curse attending younger sons in England had already had its effect. He mentions the houses referred to, in his will, and when it is stated that one of them brought in an annual rent of five shillings, and another of only twelve pence, it will be seen that their possession, though conferring the nominal title of a landed proprietor, could not have swelled greatly his income. Of course, all the sums mentioned must be multiplied by 10 or 15, to show the relative value of money then and now, but even then the estate could not be called a large one.
• William Wentworth m. twice: m.1 Ellen, dau. of John Gilby, of Ravendale, and wid. of John Ferrars. The two of the name, mentioned in the inquisition post mortem, were her brothers. West Ravendale, or Ravendale, as it is usually called, is only three or four miles from Waltham. By her he had the three sons already named. The date of her death has not been ascertained; but he had, when he died, another wife, named Anne, with whom, from various evidences, he does not appear to have been on the best of terms. He was living at Waltham, and she at Kirton, in a distant part of Lincolnshire, and the only bequest he makes to her in his will is of "such goods and implements as she hath in my house at Kirton." He left a few trifling legacies to several servants, and to the poor; and his will concludes by placing his eldest son Thomas under the guardianship of Edmund Skerne, Esq. (who is mentioned in the inquisition, and who was the Lord of the manor of Waltham), and his youngest son Christopher under that of Garrett Southill, Esq. (of whom nothing further is known.)^[8]

William Wentworth

• b. circa 1532,
• d. 22 May 1574
• Father Oliver Wentworth b. c 1490, d. 1558
• Mother Jane d. a Jan 1559
• William Wentworth was born circa 1532 at of Waltham, Lincolnshire, England.
• He married Ellen Gilby, daughter of John Gilby, circa 1552.
• William Wentworth died on 22 May 1574 at Goxhill, Lincolnshire, England.
• Family: Ellen Gilby b. c 1535, d. 1579
• Child Christopher Wentworth+ b. 1556, d. 8 Dec 1628^[9]

William WENTWORTH of Waltham

• Born: BET 1525/1530, Lincolnshire, England
• Died: 22 May 1574, Waltham, Lincolnshire, England
• Father: Oliver WENTWORTH of Goxhill
• Mother: Jane ?
• Married 1: Ellen GILBY ABT 1551/52, Lincolnshire, England
• Children:
  • 1. Oliver WENTWORTH (b. 1553 - d. AFT 1588/9)
  • 2. Thomas WENTWORTH (b. 1554 - d. 1574)
  • 3. Christopher WENTWORTH of AlfordMarried 2: Anne ?^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Terry Booth, et al, "The English Ancestry of William Wentworth of New Hampshire," in The American Genealogist, 90 (Oct 2018): 263, citing Market Rasen, Lincs, parish register [FHL film #1450428; his IPM states he died 22 May. This article contains many unbefore-known details about William's life.
2. ↑ inq. p.m.
3. ↑ Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Boston and eastern Massachusetts Volume 1 By William Richard Cutter
4. ↑ https://archive.org/details/genealogicalpers00cutt
5. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/genealogicalpers00cutt#page/493/mode/1up
6. ↑ http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n95/mode/2up
7. ↑ http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n198/mode/1up
8. ↑ http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n200/mode/1up
9. ↑ http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p1844.htm#i55426
10. ↑ http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/WENTWORTH.htm#William WENTWORTH of Waltham1

NOTE:Most sources are unaware of Oliver's first wife and assign William to the wrong mother.

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011. Vol. I, page 262, BOSVILE 8.ii. Joan Calverley and John Wentworth, parents of Thomas Wentworth, ancestor or William Wentworth (citing GBR RD600) (see fn. 154).
• Joseph Lemuel Chester, A Genealogical Memorial of the Wentworth Family of England, in New England Historical and Genealogical Registor, vol. 22 (1868), starting on page 120.
• http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p1844.htm#i55426
• Maddison, ed: Lincolnshire Pedigrees, Vol. 3, Harleian Soc 52 (1904), page 1062. (Omits son Thomas and shows Christopher and Oliver born to the 2nd wife.)
• Wentworth, J: The Wentworth Genealogy, 1st edn. (1870), 2 vols, page xxii (chart), page 29, XVIII (narrative).
• Wentworth, J: The Wentworth Genealogy, 2nd edn. (1878), 3 vols, page xvi (chart), page 58, XVIII (narrative).
• Lincolnshire pedigrees Vol.III
• http://www.archive.org/details/lincolnshirepedi03madd
• http://www.archive.org/stream/lincolnshirepedi03madd#page/641/
• Visitation of Lincolnshire 1562-4 (Cooke), ed. Metcalfe (1881), p. 51, Gilby.
• Visitation of Lincolnshire 1592 (Lee), ed. Metcalfe (1882), p. 31, Gilby No. 1.

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

William Wentworth is possiby a descendant of Magna Carta Surety Barons Hugh le Bigod and Roger le Bigod in a trail to Gateway Ancestor William Wentworth. This possible trail needs further research and development and is detailed in the Magna Carta Trails section of the profile of William Wentworth (the Gateway's father).

• Needs Development: This profile needs development against the project's checklist to bring it up to current project standards. NOTE: new research needs to be checked before developing this trail (see note at the top of the Gateway's profile). Also see to SGM discussions (links on Gateway profile). ~ Thiessen-117 19:56, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".