Catherine (Percy) Browne (bef. 1538 - abt. 1598)

Born before 1538 in Petworth, Sussex, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1598 after about age 60 in Halifax St James, Halifax, Yorkshire, England [uncertain]

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Biography

Birth

Catherine was born before 1538, possibly at Petworth, Sussex, England, to Sir Thomas and Eleanor (Harbottle) Percy and had five siblings: Thomas (7th Earl of Northumberland), Henry (8th Earl of Northumberland), Guiscard, Mary, and Joan. As brother Thomas was born in 1528, it is possible that Catherine's birth occurred before this date, but more likely after. What is known is that Thomas Percy Sr. was executed in June of 1537 for his participation in Aske's Conspiracy, so Catherine's alleged birth would have occurred prior to 1538, had her mother been pregnant at the time of her husbands's death.^[1][2][3][4]Wikipedia:Thomas_Percy_(Pilgrimage_of_Grace) However, Bernard Burke's, A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire, only confirms children Thomas, Henry, and Mary.^[5]

Marriage

While numerous family trees from various paid genealogical sites indicate that Catherine Percy married Henry Browne sometime before 1553 (the year that daughter, Margaret was born), few and questionable sources have been located to substantiate these claims. Unfortunately, an undated Ancestry.com source was the only potential connection indicating that Catherine was the mother of Margaret and was married to a Henry Browne.^[6] A marriage between Henry and Catherine Percy was possible, however, given the relationship that follows between the devout Catholic (Anthony) Browne and Percy families, where Sir Anthony Browne Sr. (c. 1443-1506) and Lucy Neville (his second wife) had four biological children (including Anne from a previous marriage): Lucy (b. 1501), Henry (b. 1506), Anthony (1500-1548), and Elizabeth (b. 1502).Wikipedia:Anthony_Browne_(died_1506) Daughter of Anthony Browne Sr., Elizabeth, married Henry Somerset and they had a daughter named Anne who married Thomas Percy, 7th earl of Northumberland (1528-1572), son of Thomas Percy and Eleanor Harbottle.^[7] Son of Anthony Browne Sr., Anthony (1500-1548), had a son Henry (born c.1529), who allegedly married Catherine Percy (born before 1538) (per Ancestry.com family trees), daughter of Thomas Percy and Eleanor Harbottle. Henry Browne and Anne Percy (Elizabeth’s daughter), therefore, would have been first cousins. While some ancestry sites show Henry Browne as the son of Christopher Browne II, this is not accurate as Christopher, unlike Anthony, did not have a son named Henry, as indicated in multiple sources.^[8][9][10] Moreover, given that Catherine Percy's brother married Elizabeth Browne, of noble birth through the Anthony Browne family lineage (Montagu), the likelihood of two Percy siblings marrying into two separate Browne families – one of noble lineage, the other not (Christopher Browne II, merchant), is unlikely.

Notable Events

There are no located sources that contribute to biographical data regarding Catherine (Percy) Browne.

Death

While numerous family trees from various paid genealogical sites indicate that Catherine Percy passed away circa 1598 at Halifax St James, Halifax, Yorkshire, England, no sources have been located to substantiate these claims.

Research Notes

The original source for the marriage of Catherine Percy to Henry Browne, as listed in numerous Ancestry.com trees, has not been located, despite extensive investigation. Additional research is needed, as the close familial relationship between the Browne and Percy families suggests a certain validity to Ancestry.com’s unverified claims.

Yet, regarding said marriage, it is unknown whether Thomas and Eleanor (Harbottle) Percy even had a daughter named Katherine. Although some secondary sources and pedigrees indicate that she did exist and was married to Ralph Ryther, this is not accurate, as her date of birth occurred ten years following Ralph Ryther’s death. The Katherine who first married Ralph Ryther, was in fact, Katherine Constable. While Ralph's second wife was a Percy, he was married to Maud, a daughter of an earlier generation of Percys. There is some dispute as to which Percy sired Maude, possibly the fourth or fifth earl of Northumberland, but most likely the fourth.^[11][12][13]

There is scant biographical information regarding Catherine (Percy) Browne. The following sources of The Publications of the Surtees Society have been investigated without additional information being located:

• Vol. 2 Wills and Inventories Illustrative of the History, Manners, Language and Atatistics, &c. of the Northern Counties of England, from the Eleventh Century Downwards. Part I (https://archive.org/details/publicationssur00socigoog);
• Vol. 116 (1908) North Country Wills. York, Nottingham, Nurthumberland, Cumberland, Westmorland (https://books.google.com/books?id=R08JAAAAIAAJ);
• The Nonconformist Register, of Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths (https://archive.org/stream/nonconformistreg00byuheyw#page/n9/mode/2up/search/Browne);
• Andrews, G. (Ed.). (1860). Wills and inventories From the Registry at Durham, part II, (https://books.google.com/books?id=wMBJAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=snippet&q=morton&f=false). Publication of the Surtees Society. London: Mitchell and son. Retrieved from Google Books (https://books.google.com), accessed 30 November, 2019.

Additional research materials with negative results include:

• Shannon, A. M. (2013). Projects of governance: Garrisons and the state of England, 1560's - 1630's (Doctoral dissertation), (https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/42724/Shannon-Andrea-PhD-HIST-%20December-2013.pdf?sequence=1), pp. 164, 165, 171-205. Retrieved from Dalhouse University (https://dalspace.library.dal.ca), accessed 8 February 2020.
• Yorkshire genealogist. (1888). In J. Horsfall Turner (Ed.), Vol. I. (https://archive.org/details/yorkshiregenealo12turn/page/n4). Merged with Yorkshire notes and queries (Bingley, West Yorkshire), to become: Yorkshire county magazine. Bingley (England): Printed for the editor by T. Harrison. Retrieved from Internet Archilve (https://archive.org), accessed 8 February 2020.
• Wallis, J. (1769). The natural history and antiquities of Northumberland: and of so much of the county of Durham as lies between the rivers Tyne and Tweed; commonly called, North Bishoprick, (https://ia600207.us.archive.org/22/items/naturalhistoryan02walluoft/naturalhistoryan02walluoft.pdf), Vol. II., pp. 163-164 London: W. and W. Strahan. Retrieved from Internet Archive (https://archive.org); accessed 4 February 2020.
• Thierry, A. (1847). History of the conquest of England by the Normans; its causes, and its consequences, in England, Scotland, Ireland, & on the continent, (https://archive.org/details/historyofconques01thieuoft/page/n8), Vol. I. London: David Bogue. Retrieved from Internet Archive (https://archive.org); accessed 8 February 2020.
• Thierry, A. (1847). History of the conquest of England by the Normans; its causes, and its consequences, in England, Scotland, Ireland, & on the continent, (https://archive.org/details/historyconquest01thiegoog/page/n10), Vol. II. London: David Bogue. Retrieved from Internet Archive (https://archive.org); accessed 8 February 2020.
• The National Archives; Kew, England; Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions for Katherine Browne: Will Registers; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 93. Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 [database on-line]. Retrieved from Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013; accessed 12 February 2020.

Sources

1. ↑ Brenan, G. (1902). A history of the house of Percy. (https://archive.org/details/historyofhouseof01bren/page/n225/mode/2up),Vol. I., Table 2., facing p. 168. London: Freemantle & CO. Retrieved from Internet Archive (https://archive.org), accessed 21 February 2020.
2. ↑ Collins, A. (1812). Collins's peerage of England; genealogical, biographical, and historical, (https://archive.org/details/collinsspeerageo02colliala/page/308/mode/2up/search/Thomas+Percy), Vol. 2, p. 309. London: F. C. and J. Rivington. Retrieved from Internet Archive (https://archive.org); accessed 3 February 2020.
3. ↑ Hodgson, J. (1832). A history of Northumberland in three parts.(https://archive.org/details/historyofnortpt202hodguoft/page/234/mode/2up), Part II, Vol. II, p. 262. Newcasstle-upon-Tyne: T & J. Pigg. Retrieved from Internet Archive (https://archive.org), accessed 21 February 2020.
4. ↑ The Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval (1911). The Plantagenet roll of the blood royal. (https://archive.org/details/plantagenetrollo01ruvi/page/122/mode/2up/search/Catherine+Percy). The Mortimer-Percy Volume, part I, p. 122. London: Melville & Company. Retrieved from Internet Archive (https://archive.org), accessed 21 February 2020.
5. ↑ Burke, B. (1883). A genealogical history of the dormant, abeyant, forfeited, and extinct peerages of the British Empire. (https://archive.org/details/agenealogicalhi00burkgoog/page/n390/mode/2up/search/Percy), p. 391. Publisher: Genealogical Publishing Company (Reprint of the 1883 ed. published by Harrison, London). Retrieved from Internet Archive (https://archive.org); accessed 22 February 2020
6. ↑ England & Wales, Christening Index, 1530-1980 [database on-line]. Retrieved from Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008; accessed 3 February 2020.
7. ↑ Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. (edited 31 October 2019). Anne Percy, Countess of Northumberland, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Percy,_Countess_of_Northumberland). Retrieved from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org); accessed 8 February 2020.
8. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 05 February 2020), memorial page for Christopher Browne (1492–3 Jul 1538), Find A Grave: Memorial #130705411, citing St. Mary's Churchyard, Hawkedon, St Edmundsbury Borough, Suffolk, England; Maintained by Robert DeVowe (contributor 48224154).
9. ↑ Blore, E. (1826). The monumental remains of noble and eminent persons: Comprising the sepuchral antiquities of Great Britain, (https://archive.org/details/cu31924105746592/page/n349/mode/2up/search/Anthony+Browne), for Anthony Browne, p. 6. London: Harding, Lepard, and CO. Retrieved from Internet Archive (https://archive.org); accessed 3 February 2020.
10. ↑ Christopher Browne II, (https://www.geni.com/people/Christopher-Browne-ll-of-Swan-Hall/6000000002666386283). Updated 9 December 2019. Retrieved from Geni.com (https://www.geni.com); accessed 3 February 2020.
11. ↑ Anderson, E. M. (21 December 2008). Sir Ralph Ryther, (https://www.geni.com/people/Sir-Ralph-Ryther/6000000004969063300#/tab/overview). Retrieved from Geni.com (https://www.geni.com); accessed 3 February 2020.
12. ↑ Verity, B. (posted 8 August 2006). A well sourced document that addresses the parentage of Maud Percy, Dame Ryther. Retrieved from soc.genealogy.medeival, (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/soc.genealogy.medieval); accessed 11 July 2018.
13. ↑ Collins, A. (1812). Collins's peerage of England; genealogical, biographical, and historical, (https://archive.org/details/collinsspeerageo02colliala/page/308/mode/2up/search/Thomas+Percy), Vol. 2, p. 309. London: F. C. and J. Rivington. Retrieved from Internet Archive (https://archive.org); accessed 3 February 2020.