Henry (Herdson) Hudson Sr (abt. 1507 - 1555)

Born about 1507 in City of London, England [uncertain]

Husband of Barbara (Watson) Champion — married about 1535 in England

Descendants

Died 17 Dec 1555 at about age 48 in City of London, England [uncertain]

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Biography

Henry Herdson was born in about 1507. This is based on his being 15 years old at the time of the Chancery Suit Herdson v Brumwell, which likely took place in 1522, shortly after the death of Henry's father, Thomas Herdson. ^[1][2] He was probably born in London, where his father Thomas was a member of the Company of Skinners; but it is also possible he was born in Lincolnshire, from where the family appears to have originated.^[3]

Henry's father, Thomas Herdson, died in late 1521 or early 1522, when Henry was likely in his mid-teens. Henry was heir to his father and appointed executor of his father's will. He was to receive his inheritance at the age of 21 years, it being managed by Henry Bothby in the meantime.^[2]

Henry was made a Freeman of the Company of Skinners in 1537 and was appointed Master of the Company in 1552. ^[4] He exported cloth and traded in Spanish oranges, oil and wines as well as his trade in skins and furs.

Around 1537, Henry married Barbara Watson, daughter of Edward Watson of Luddington, Northamptonshire. Together they had eleven children (eight sons and three daughters), a fact recorded on Henry's memorial at the church of St Dunstan in the East (see "Death and Burial"). The names of two sons and one of the daughters are not known and presumably died in childhood. The eighth son Anthony was born two months after his father's death.

• Ann born around 1537
• Thomas born 1542
• Edward born 1544
• Henry born 1546, died 1560
• John born 1549
• Abigail born 1551
• Kenelm born 1552, died 1560
• Anthony born 1556, died before 1568

Henry Hudson Sr. also recorded as Henry Herdson Sr. among other phonetic spellings appears to have been an extremely wealthy and influential man from his notation as a founder of the Muscovy Company per Queen Mary's Charter.^[5] It is also found that his rank among the "Skinners and Tanners" was likely due to his increased land holdings, likely due to King Henry VIII and the English Reformation.^[6] Within the two above mentioned citations, it is well documented the feud between the King and the Pope regarding an annulment of the King's marriage to Catherine of Aragon resulted in many pieces of property previously held by the Catholics (monasteries) being seized and later purchased by this Hudson and the father of his wife who was Edward Watson.

According to Combined excerpts covering 1509-1603 Reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, Elizabeth^[7]

1554 Aug 30

Lambarde

Henry Herdson, Skinner

Aldersgate 1554-5

Master Skinners 1552.

Died Dec 1555; Will (PCC 38 More) 16 Dec 1555; proved 10 Jan 1556.

Notes

More About Henry "Gentleman" Hudson: Burial: Unknown, Church of St Dustans in the East, London, England Interesting Tidbit: Alderman of London, Lord of Manors. Occupation: Member of Association of Merchant Adventurers founded by Sebastian Cabot in 1553 ^[8]

Death and Burial

Henry Herdson died on 17 December 1555, ^[9] of a fever that swept through London.^[10] His funeral was an elaborate affair attended by the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and the Masters of the Livery Companies.^[11] He was buried at St Dunstan's in the East on 20 December 1555. ^[11]

The church of St Dunstan in the East was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 (rebuilt and destroyed again by enemy action in 1944). John Stow recorded the tomb of "Henry Heardson" in his "Survey of London and Westminster" (1598) ^[12] The monument recorded that he was married the once to Barbara and the couple had 11 children, 8 sons and 3 daughters. Note also that the date of death on the monument was 22 December rather than the 17 December given at his IPM.

Here lyeth Henry Heardson's Corps,
within this Tomb of Stone:
His Soul (through Faith in Christ his Death,)
to God in Heaven is gone.
Whilst that he lived an Alderman,
and Skinner was his State,
To Virtue bare he all his Love,
To Vice he bare his Hate.
His Alms that weekly he bestow'd,
within this Parish here,
May witness to the Poores Relief,
what Good Will he did bear.
He had to Wife one Barbara,
which made this Tomb you see:
By whom he had of Issue store,
eight Sons and Daughters three.
Obijt 22. Decemb. An. Dom. 1555.

His wife Barbara remarried to Sir Richard Champion of the Drapers' Company and a Mayor of London. She also outlived Sir Richard, and had the two tombs of her husbands erected next to each other at St Dunstan's. ^[12]

Will of Henry Herdson

Henry Herdson made his will on 9 December 1555. In it, he describes himself as an Alderman of London. The will was proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 10 January 1555/6.^[13] A full transcription is available here. Family members mentioned in the will are:

• Thomas Herdson, son and heir apparent (ie eldest son) (under 21)
• Sons Edward, Henry, John and Kellam Herdson (under 21, Kellam is stated to be youngest son)
• Daughter Abigail Herdson (who is probably one of the younger children as only she and Kellam were given to the custody of their mother)
• Wife Barbara
• Unborn child (wife Barbara is pregnant)
• Walter Herdson (under 24, relationship not mentioned but will suggests Walter, Ellen and Agnes may be siblings)
• Ellen Herdson (unmarried, relationship not mentioned but will suggests Walter, Ellen and Agnes may be siblings)
• Agnes Herdson (unmarried, relationship not mentioned but will suggests Walter, Ellen and Agnes may be siblings)
• Cousin John Herdson of Lincolnshire (in this era, cousin could also mean nephew)
• Thomas Sexton (relationship not mentioned, but he was husband of daughter Ann)

Inquisition Post Mortem

Following Henry Herdson's death, an inquisition post mortem was taken at Deptford, on 13 February 1555/6. In it, he is described as "citizen and Alderman of London". The following has been translated from the Latin original:^[14]

And furthermore, the sworn jurors aforesaid say upon their sacred oath that the aforementioned Henry Herdson died on the seventeenth day of December last past. And that Thomas Herdson is his son and heir, and was at the time of the death of the aforesaid Henry, his father, thirteen years, four months, and fourteen days old. And moreover, the aforesaid jurors say that the aforesaid Henry Herdson had, besides Thomas, four other sons begotten from his body, still alive, namely Edward, Henry, John, and Kenelm. And that the aforesaid Edward is eleven years and four months old. And that the aforesaid Henry, the son, is nine years and two months old. And that the aforesaid John is six years, two months, and three weeks old. And that the aforesaid Kenelm is three years, seven months, on the day of the taking of this inquisition.

Research Notes

• William Hudson has been detached as a child. Despite extensive searching, no evidence has been found that Henry Herdson, Alderman, had a son named William. For example, there is no son named William mentioned in his will, or that of his wife Barbara. Henry Hudson has also been detached as a child. While Henry Herdson, Alderman, did have a son named Henry, that son died as a child in 1560, so cannot be the same person. There is no evidence that Henry Herdson had two sons named Henry (who would both have been living at the same time given that the Alderman died in 1555). Donnelly-2171 09:08, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

• A number of publications state that Alderman Henry Herdson also spelled his surname "Hudson". The first researcher to propose this is thought to be John Meredith Read, who in the 1860s conducted research into the ancestry of Henry Hudson, the navigator.^[15] Read states that Henry Herdson, Alderman of London, was also known as Henry Hudson.^[15] In support of this, he cites a Chancery Calendar published in 1830, in which one of the entries details a case involving three of the sons of the Alderman. The entry uses both "Herdson" and "Hudson" as the surname for Henry the Alderman.^[16] However, consulting the full chancery suit indexed in the calendar, (available on request from The National Archives) reveals that "Hudson" in the calendar is an error - it does not appear at all in the original suit, wherein the spelling is consistently "Herdson".^[17] Read did his research from the United States, so would not have had access to the Public Record Office to consult the original document. Extensive research into Alderman Henry Herdson and his immediate family using contemporary sources has failed to reveal a single instance of members of this family using the spelling "Hudson" for their surname. All contemporary sources use the spelling "Herdson", or variants such as "Heardson", "Hurdson" or "Hardson". Always with an "r" before the "d". Donnelly-2171 02:00, 4 December 2022 (UTC)

• Rudolph Hudson and Elizabeth Pyel have been detached as parents of Henry. Despite extensive searches over several years, no contemporary evidence has been found to indicate that these people were Henry's parents. Indeed, no firm evidence has been found to confirm that these people even existed (at least in terms of the details currently recorded on Wikitree). Conversely, there is very strong evidence that Thomas Herdson is Henry's father, through his will^[2] and a court case^[1], both of which state that Henry is the son of Thomas Herdson. Donnelly-2171 03:55, 29 April 2023 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Court of Chancery, Pleadings addressed to Thomas Wolsey (1518-1529): Herdson v Brumwell, reference: C 1/521/42, The National Archives, Kew, England; image Anglo-American Legal Tradition - AALT (http://aalt.law.uh.edu : accessed 15 December 2019). Transcript.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Thomas Herdson, skinner, will proved 4 March 1521/2, Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers, class PROB 11, piece 20: Maynwaring (1520-1522), The National Archives, Kew, England; "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 April 2021), Image 358 of 473 (subscription required), transcript.
3. ↑ The English Baronetage... vol. 3 part 1 (London: Thomas Wotton, 1741), p. 42.
4. ↑ Book: Willan, Thomas Stuart, The Muscovy merchants of 1555
   [Manchester, Eng.] Manchester University Press; 1953; page: 102
   Internet Archive (accessed 19 December 2023)
5. ↑ https://archive.org/details/inquiryconcern00readrich/page/30/mode/2up p. 31 A historical inquiry concerning Henry Hudson, his friends, relatives and early life, his connection with the Muscovy company and discovery of Delaware Bay by Read, John Meredith, 1837-1896; Historical Society of Delaware; Making of America Project
6. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_England
7. ↑ Notes on the Aldermen of London
8. ↑ Hudson Family Association of Longview, TX Bulletin No 39 (p69) and the Hudsons of Chesterfield chart Bulletin no 50
9. ↑ H.W. Forsyth Howard (ed.), "Inquisitiones Post Mortem", The Genealogist, volume 18 page 185; digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 29 October 2019).
10. ↑ Grafton, Richard, A Chronicle at Large (London : H. Denham, 1569), Volume 2, page 555; images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 17 April 2023).
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} 'Diary: 1555 (July - Dec)', in The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of London, 1550-1563, ed. J G Nichols (London, 1848), pp. 90-99. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/camden-record-soc/vol42/pp90-99 [accessed 2 November 2019].
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} A SURVEY OF THE CITIES OF London and Westminster John Stow pub 1598 Book 2, page 44 John Strype's Survey of London online Accessed 17 December 2023
13. ↑ Henry Herdson, Alderman of London, will proved 10 January 1555/6, Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers, class PROB 11, piece 37: More (1554-1556), The National Archives, Kew, England; "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 October 2019), Image 555 of 623 (subscription required).
14. ↑ Inquisition Post Mortem of Henry Herdson, Citizen and Alderman of London, taken at Deptford 13 February 1555/6, Item: 44 (labelled at top-right of manuscript), Series: 106 - Inquisitions from 2 & 3 Philip & Mary, Piece: 142 - "Inquisitions Post Mortem, Series II, and other Inquisitions, Henry VII to Charles I", Department: Chancery - "Records created, acquired, and inherited by Chancery, and also of the Wardrobe, Royal Household, Exchequer and various commissions", accessed 14 December 2023 at The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, United Kingdom; Discovery catalogue entry.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Read, John Meredith, Jr, A Historical Inquiry Concerning Henry Hudson, his Friends, Relatives and Early Life, his Connection with the Muscovy Company and Discovery of Delaware Bay (Albany Joel Munsell, 1866) p. 19; Internet Archive (www.archive.org : accessed 13 March 2020), image.
16. ↑ "Proceedings in Chancery Temp. Eliz.," Marked H.h. 11, p. 24 no. 56; in Calendars of the Proceedings in Chancery, in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth (London: 1830), vol. 2; Google Books (https://books.google.com : accessed 13 March 2020) image.
17. ↑ Court of Chancery, Pleadings addressed to Nicholas Bacon (1578): Herdson v Herdson, reference: C 2/Eliz/H11/56, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, England; image supplied by TNA to Nic Donnelly. Transcription.

See also:

• Goldshmid, E.M., ed. "The Life of Henry Hudson," Clarendon Historical Society Reprints, Series I, No. XI (Edinburgh: Privately Printed, 1882), containing many references to the earliest known records of the Hudson family.

• Ancestry.com. OneWorldTree [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: MyFamily.com, Inc. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/14836175/person/172630212/facts https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/12727055/family
• http://www.thedomesticcurator.com/2013/12/hudson-genealogy-from-rudolph-to.html
• http://hamelia.tripod.com/generations.html
• http://www.ianchadwick.com/hudson/hudson_07.htm

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