George Wyatt (abt. 1554 - bef. 1624)

Born about Jan 1554 in Allington Castle, Kent, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Jane (Finch) Wyatt — married 8 Oct 1582 in Eastwell, Kent, England

Descendants

Died before 1 Sep 1624 before about age 70 in Ireland [uncertain]

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Biography

George Wyatt, Esq., of Allington and Boxley Abbey, Kent, was the son and heir of Thomas Wyatt by his wife Jane (Haute) Wyatt,^[1] and the brother of Richard, Charles, Arthur, Henry, Joyce, Ursula, Anne (wife of Roger Twisden), and Jane (wife of Charles Scott).^[2] George's father famously led an unsuccessful rebellion against Queen Mary I, for which he was imprisoned and beheaded at the Tower of London on 11 April 1554.^[2] George was probably born in very late 1553 or in January 1554. He was reportedly the infant son who was said, in a defense of his father likely written many years later, to have been born just before his father's rebellion started in late January 1554, and whom his father is said to have held in swaddling clothes as he was about to set out.^[3]

George was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1571.^[1][4] He was a writer, however none of his writings were published in his lifetime.^[1] It appears from his writings that he served some time as a soldier, probably in the Low Countries. He was likely at the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom in 1588, during the Dutch war of independence from the Spanish, known as the Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt.^[1][5]

Writings and Documents

George wrote and collected various documents in his later years. These papers and others were compiled into a commonplace book in 1727 by George's descendant, Richard Wyatt. This was later deposited, along with other Wyatt manuscripts, in the British Library. They were published in 1968.^[6]

The writings include

• discussions of the careers of both his father and paternal grandfather
• a treatise on the defense of Calais
• a plan for creating a permanent militia system for England based on one devised by his father
• a biography of Anne Boleyn, first published in 1814.^[1]
• a letter of military advice to his son, Sir Francis Wyatt, then Governor of Virginia, written in 1624.^[1][7]

Property

On 15 March 1553/4 Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger was tried and convicted for treason. He was beheaded outside the Tower of London on 11 April following. Later that same year his entire extensive estate was forfeited to the crown by parliamentary act of attainder. However, George's mother, Jane, was granted a limited amount of her husband's lands and a moderate annuity from Queen Mary in 1554 and 1555.^[1] At that time Lady Jane Wyatt had been granted the manor of Boxley, with the Upper Grange, and some other lands adjoining it. Jane was not given the Abbey then: "the scite and mansion of it" (Boxley) was leased by Queen Elizabeth in the eleventh year of her reign to John Astley for a term of several years.^[8]

On 24 May 13th Elizabeth I (1571) the children of Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, were restored in blood by an act of Parliament.^[9][8] At that time, George was granted a small property at W[e]avering.^[1] Loades states that George inherited his mother's Boxley and Southfleet properties by 1618, and in 1622 recovered Boxley Abbey.^[1] George actually inherited his mother's property upon her death in 1598, the record of which Loades had not found.^[10]

Marriage and Children

George married Jane Finch, the daughter of Sir Thomas Finch of Eastwell, Kent,^[11] by Katherine Moyle,^[12] on 8 October 1582^[2][13] at Eastwell, Kent.^[14][15] They had the following children:

• Katherine Wyatt, baptized 13 October 1583 at Eastwell, Kent,^[16] buried 10 May 1608 at Boxley, Kent.^[17][18]
• Eleanor Wyatt, baptized 1 September 1585 at Eastwell, Kent;^[19] wife of Sir John Finch, who was created 1st Baron Finch subsequent to her death;^[2][13] buried 7 December 1623 at Boxley, Kent.^[20]
• Sir Francis Wyatt,^[13] born ca. 1588, buried 24 August 1644 at Boxley, Kent; Governor of Virginia 1621-1626, 1639-1642; married Margaret Sandys 1618.^[2]
• Anne Wyatt, baptized 27 February 1591/92 at Otham, Kent;^[21] buried 6 September 1611 at Boxley, Kent.^[22][18]
• Rev. Hawte Wyatt,^[13] baptized 4 June 1594 at Otham, Kent;^[23] buried 8 August 1638 at Boxley, Kent;^[24] married three times, five children.^[2]
• Rev. Henry Wyatt,^[2] baptized 7 November 1596 at Otham, Kent;^[25] buried 1 January 1624/25 at Boxley, Kent.^[26]
• George Wyatt,^[2][13] baptized 27 December 1601 at Otham, Kent.^[27] Died about 1619 of a fever.^[28]
• Thomas Wyatt,^[2][13] baptized 4 March 1603/04 at Boxley, Kent.^[29] Buried 21 December 1625 at Maidstone, Kent.^[30][31]

David M. Loades states that George and Jane Wyatt had five sons and four daughters. He bases his conclusion that there were four daughters on the fact that in MS 37 of The Wyatt Papers held by the British Library, George and Jane's daughter Eleanor is referred to as their third daughter, while Anne is called the youngest daughter. As there was only one other known daughter, Katherine, Loades concludes there must have been another, otherwise unknown, daughter who died young.^[1][32] However, whether a fourth daughter actually existed remains uncertain. For now, a profile for an Unknown daughter is currently included among George's children. It includes a discussion of the relevant secondary sources.

Death and Burial

George Wyatt was buried at Boxley, Kent, on 1 September 1624.^[2][11][13]

His burial entry in the parish register includes pious Latin verses, probably penned by the vicar (George Case), setting out advice which George Wyatt is imagined to have given to his deceased daughters. The Latin text and an English translation can be found on this free space page.

George Wyatt's wife Jane (Finch) Wyatt survived him, was living 29 April 1639 while acting as administratrix for their son Hawte,^[2] and was buried at Boxley 27 March 1644.^[33] His son Sir Francis Wyatt succeeded him in his estates.^[11] Douglas Richardson says that he died in Ireland.^[2]

Research Notes

Death Place

There is disagreement about his death place.

His entry, by David Loades, in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography gives his death place as Boxley, with no clear sourcing,^[1] and Loades says the same in the introductory material to his edition of George's papers: Loades states that George lived at Boxley from the time he regained possession of Boxley Abbey in 1622, but again gives no clear sourcing for where George died.^[34]

George was in Boxley at some point in the first half of 1624, when he sent a very long letter from there giving advice to his son Francis, Governor of Virginia. A draft final paragraph which was not included in the final version says that the letter "may be like to be my last": this may imply that he thought he was near death, which could lend some support to a death place of Boxley if he continued very ill until his death; but, if so, the omission of this paragraph from the final version may also mean that, if he was seriously ill, he was recovering or recovered before the final letter was sent.^[35] The date of the letter is uncertain - it is dated four days after the fair held at Maidstone, Kent: these fairs were held on 2 February, 1 May, 9 June and 6 October,^[36] with some of the content of the letter showing it was written after late October 1623, and George's burial date ruling out October 1624.

Douglas Richardson says that he died in Ireland.^[2][13] This is supported by a commission given in September 1624 by James I to Sir George Yeardley to act as Deputy Governor of Virginia if George Wyatt's son Francis, then Governor, returned to England "about his own private Occasions". The commission stated that "we (James I) have been credibly informed since our said Commission Granted that George Wyat Esq'r, Father of the said Sir Francis Wyat is deceased in our Realm of Ireland" and that this was the cause of Francis's possible return to England.^[37]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10} Loades, David. "Wyatt, George (1553–1624), landowner and writer" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. May 24, 2008. Oxford University Press. Accessed online 8 Nov 2019 at OxfordDNB.com (with subscription).
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12} 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. IV, page 383 WYATT 16.
3. ↑ A Defence of Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, and Sir Thomas the Younger, against the Accusations of Nicholas Sanders (c.1595), transcribed in D M Loades, The Papers of George Wyatt Esquire of Boxley Abbey in the County of Kent, Royal Historical Society, 1968, p. 201, Internet Archive, available for 1-hour loan, accessed 2 November 2023
4. ↑ Foster, Joseph. The Register of Admissions to Gray's Inn, 1521-1889. (London: Hansard Pub. Union, 1889), online at HathiTrust, page 41, folio 609 "George Wyate".
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighty_Years%27_War
6. ↑ D. M. Loades, The Papers of George Wyatt Esquire of Boxley Abbey in the County of Kent: Son and Heir of Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger (London: Royal Historical Society, 1968), Internet Archive, accessed 30 March 2024.
7. ↑ Fausz, J. Frederick, and John Kukla. “A Letter of Advice to the Governor of Virginia, 1624.” in The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 1, 1977, pages 104–129. Online at JSTOR.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Hasted, Edward. "Parishes: Boxley" in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 4. (Canterbury: W Bristow, 1798). Accessed online 19 Nov 2019 at British History Online, pages 324-353.
9. ↑ "Journal of the House of Lords: May 1571," from The Journals of All the Parliaments During the Reign of Queen Elizabeth (originally published by Irish University Press, Shannon, Ireland, 1682), pp. 145-154, British History Online, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/jrnl-parliament-eliz1/pp145-154, accessed 30 March 2024.
10. ↑ Burial of Madame Jane Wyat, 15 March 1597/8, Otham, "Kent Burials" (digital image), FindMyPast, accessed 30 March 2024.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} John Cave-Browne. The History of Boxley Parish. (Maidstone: E. J. Dickinson, 1892), online at Archive.org (includes parish register beg. 1594): pages 10, 119, 146-147, 152, 162-3 (burial record of daughters Katherine and Anne), 166 (burial record in latin).
12. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. II, page 589.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7} Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. IV, page 412.
14. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NNCP-RVM), George Wiott, 1582
15. ↑ Marriage of George Wyott and Jane ffinche, 8 October 1582, Eastwell, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
16. ↑ Baptism of Catherine, daughter of George Wyott, Gent., 13 October 1583, Eastwell, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
17. ↑ Burial of Katherina Wyatt, 10 May 1608, Boxley, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} John Cave-Browne, The History of Boxley Parish, pp. 162-163, Internet Archive
19. ↑ Baptism of Eleonora, daughter of George Wyott, Gent., 1 September 1585, Eastwell, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
20. ↑ Burial of Hellenora, wife of John Finch, 7 December 1623, Boxley, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
21. ↑ Baptism of Anne, daughter of George Wyat, Esq., 27 February 1591/92, Otham, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
22. ↑ Burial of Anna Wyatt, daughter of George Wyatt, Gent., 6 September 1611, Boxley, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
23. ↑ Baptism of Hawte, son of George Wyat, Esq., 4 June 1594, Otham, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
24. ↑ Burial of Mr. Haute Wyatt, vicar and son of Mr.George Wyatt, 8 August 1638, Boxley, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
25. ↑ Baptism of Henry, son of George Wyat, Esq., 7 November 1596, Otham, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
26. ↑ Burial of Henricus Wiat, Master of Arts and Minister, 1 January 1624/25, Boxley, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
27. ↑ Baptism of George, son of George Wyat, Esq., 27 December 1601, Otham, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
28. ↑ D M Loades, The Papers of George Wyatt Esquire of Boxley Abbey in the County of Kent (London:Royal Historical Society, 1968), pp. 12-13.
29. ↑ Baptism of Thomas, son of George Wyatt, Armiger, 4 March 1603/04, Boxley, Kent, FindMyPast (parish register image)
30. ↑ Burial of Thomas Wyat, 21 December 1625, burial register of Maidstone-All Saints, "Kent Burials" (index entry), FindMyPast, accessed 23 March 2024.
31. ↑ John Cave-Browne, The History of Boxley Parish, p. 168, Internet Archive, accessed 27 March 2024.
32. ↑ D. M. Loades, The Papers of George Wyatt Esquire of Boxley Abbey in the County of Kent, (London: Royal Historical Society, 1968), p. 12, Internet Archive
33. ↑ John Cave-Browne, The History of Boxley Parish, p. 172, Internet Archive
34. ↑ D M Loades, The Papers of George Wyatt Esquire of Boxley Abbey in the County of Kent, Royal Historical Society, 1968, p. 11, Internet Archive
35. ↑ J Frederick Fausz and Jon Kukla. A Letter of Advice to the Governor of Virginia, 1624, in 'The William and Mary Quarterly', Vol. 34, No. 1 (Jan., 1977), pp. 104-129, JSTOR
36. ↑ J M Russell.The History of Maidstone, William S Vivish, 1881, p. 311, Internet Archive
37. ↑ Full transcript of commission in The Randolph Manuscript, in 'The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography', Vol. XVI No. 2, 1908, pp. 121-123, Internet Archive: gives the date of the commission as 18 September 1625; the Calendar of State Papers for the relevant period has a short digest of the commission and gives the date as 15 September 1624: 'James 1 - volume 172: September 1624', in Calendar of State Papers Domestic: James I, 1623-25, ed. Mary Anne Everett Green (London, 1859), pp. 333-347, British History Online, accessed 2 November 2023

See also:

• Notes and Queries (London, England: G. Bell, 1850-). Online at Archive.org, c.1, ser 3, vol. 3 (3 Jan 1863) page 9-10: transcribed inscription of the Wiat family monument at Boxley, Kent.
• Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 18 Nov 2019), memorial page for [Sir] George Wiat (1550–1624), Find A Grave: Memorial #41897434, citing St Mary the Virgin and All Saints Churchyard, Boxley, Maidstone Borough, Kent, England; Maintained by Cousins by the Dozens (contributor 46904925): photo of memorial plaque.
• Wikipedia: profile of George Wyatt.

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was re-reviewed/updated to meet current standards by Traci Thiessen 18 November 2019.

George Wyatt appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail between Gateway Ancestors Sir Francis Wyatt and Hawte Wyatt and Magna Carta Surety Baron William Malet that was reviewed/approved by the Magna Carta Project in 2015 and re-reviewed in April 2020. See the Magna Carta Trails on the profile of Hawte Wyatt to view the profiles in this trail.

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