James Digges (bef. 1474 - abt. 1536)

Born before 1474 in Kent, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mildred (Fineux) Digges — married [date unknown] in England

Husband of Philippa (Engham) Digges — married before 1515 in Kent, England

Descendants

Died about 1536 after about age 62 in England

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Biography

James was the son of John Digges and Joan Clifton.^[1][2][3] He was his father's heir and was said to be 30 and more at his father's Inquisitions Post Mortem in 1503,^[4] pointing to a birth date of before 1474. He was likely to have been born in Kent where his father held lands.

James married twice. His first wife was Mildred Fineux, daughter of John Fineux and Elizabeth Apuldrefield.^[1][2][3] They had one son:

• John^[1][2][3]

Mildred's death date is not known.

James's second wife was Philippa Engham, daughter of John Engham.^[1][2][3] They probably married in Kent where both families lived. Given their son Leonard's likely approximate birth date, the marriage probably took place before 1515. They had one son:

• Leonard,^[1][2][3] probably born in about 1515: he was old enough to be studying at Oxford in 1531 according to a letter of his father (though no formal University record has been found)^[5]

James was Sheriff of Kent in 1510-11.^[6]

James's Wills (one related to his personal estate and the other to real property) were dated 20 February 1535/6 and first proved on 24 November 1540 (they were further proved on 25 June 1544). In them, among other provisions, he:^[7][8][9]

• requested burial at the parish church of Barham, Kent near his mother and first wife
• named
  • his second wife Philip
  • his son Leonard
  • his grandson William Digges, son of his deceased eldest son John, and William's brother Francis
  • his son John's wife Mildred
  • his cousin Thomas Digges, son of William Digges, late of Newington
  • his cousin Richard Digges
• appointed as executors his second wife, his son Leonard, his nephew John Sakevyle and his nephew Robert Brente

Inquisitions Post Mortem were held in 28 Henry VIII (22 April 1536 - 21 April 1537)^[10] so he died in about 1536, soon after signing his Will.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Robert Hovenden (ed.). The Visitation of Kent taken in the years 1619-1621, Harleian Society, 1898, p. 65, Internet Archive
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. II, p. 81, DIGGES 11, Google Books
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. III, p. 104, GRANDISON 10
4. ↑ Maskelyne and H. C. Maxwell Lyte, 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry VII, Entries 651-700', in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Series 2, Volume 2, Henry VII (London, 1915), pp. 411-458, British History Online (entry 686), accessed 23 March 2023
5. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Stephen Johnston for 'Digges, Leonard', print and online 2004
6. ↑ List of sheriffs for England and Wales, PRO Lists and Indices, HMSO 1898 (Kraus Reprint Corporation 1963), p. 69, Internet Archive
7. ↑ Reginald M Glencross. Virginia Gleanings in England, in 'The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography', Vol. 30, Virginia Historical Society, 1922, pp. 363-364, Internet Archive
8. ↑ The National Archives, ref. PROB 11/28/308, Discovery Centre catalogue entry
9. ↑ Will viewable at England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858, Ancestry.co.uk
10. ↑ The National Archives, ref. C 142/58/5, National Archives catalogue entry

• Wikipedia: Leonard Digges (scientist)

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 23 March 2023 and reviewed by Jen Hutton the same day.

James Digges appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestor Edward Digges to Magna Carta Surety Baron Geoffrey de Say (vol. II, pages 78-83 DIGGES) which was badged in March 2023, and is set out in the Magna Carta Trails section of the Gateway's profile.

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".