John Bourchier (abt. 1567 - 1626)

Born about 1567 in Beningbrough, Yorkshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Verney) Bourchier — married 1587 in Compton Verney, Warwickshire, England

Descendants

Died 17 Mar 1626 at about age 59 in Lambeth, Surrey, England

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John Bourchier is in trails badged by the Magna Carta Project to several surety barons (see text below).

Biography

John Bourchier, Knt.^[1][2]

John, son of Ralph Bourchier, Knt., and his first wife, Elizabeth Hall, daughter of Francis Hall, Esq.,^[3][4] was born 1567/8, probably at Beningbrough, Yorkshire.^[5][6][7]

John was admitted to Gray's Inn, London on 23 November 1584.^[3]

About 1593,^[5] he married Elizabeth Verney, daughter of George Verney, Esq., of Compton Verney, Warwickshire.

Unusually for a younger son, John was granted the manor of Hanging Grimston, Yorkshire by his father about 1593. This was partly to compensate him for the fact that his brother-in-law, Sir Richard Verney, was unable to afford to pay a dowry, and partly because his elder brother was a lunatic.^[5]

Children of John and Elizabeth (Verney) Bourchier:^[8]

• Elizabeth Bourchier, married Richard Rossiter^[1]
• Mary Bouchier Whitaker, married Captain Jabez Whitaker^[1]
• Ralph Bourchier
• Richard Bourchier
• George Bourchier
• Henry Bourchier
• Robert Bourchier
• Lucy Bourchier
• James Bourchier
• Verney Bourchier, lieutenant^[1]
• Katherine Bourchier
• William Bourchier

John was a Justice of the Peace for the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1599 or earlier to at least 1608; a captain of the East Riding militia in 1599; Commissioner of Sewers in the East Riding in 1603/4; and made a member of the Council of the North in 1611. He was knighted in 1609.^[5]

John Bourchier is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society

Sir John expanded the landholdings he inherited in Yorkshire, based around Hanging Grimston (a village since deserted) in the parish of Kirby Underdale, acquiring more estates, though this led to some protracted litigation. He also ventured, with notable lack of success, into manufacturing, particularly of alum, and his industrial failures led to considerable debt. In 1612 he and his partners in an alum farm declared bankruptcy. There were other financial problems. Sir John was sued for the non-payment of the dowry of a cousin, and for misappropriation of other money. Chased by creditors, he was outlawed for debt in 1613 and went into hiding, emerging only when "armed with pistols and other extraordinary weapons so as few or none dare adventure to take him."^[5]

Even though he was an outlaw, he became Member of Parliament for Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire in 1614.^[5]

Other legal difficulties led to his imprisonment for a period in 1621.^[5]

In 1622 he was finally discharged from the debts relating to the alum farm. He went on to invest in soap manufacture, but again without success, though he optimistically doubled his shareholding in the enterprise in the summer of 1625.^[5]

Sir John died intestate at Lambeth, Surrey, England on 17 March 1626, with his financial affairs in something of a mess.^[5] His widow renounced administration of the estate: this was granted on 5 April 1626 to his daughter Mary, wife of Jabez Whitaker,^[3] but her role as administrator was clearly contested: in August 1627 letters of administration were issued to one of his former servants, who was suing a lawyer over the handling of some Yorkshire lands of Sir John’s.^[5] In 1635 his son Verney took over the administration.^[3] Verney was soon apprised that the debts of the estate outweighed any assets. The estate was still being pursued for old debts in 1638.^[5]

Research Notes

The History of Parliament has an alternate spelling for his last name as "Bowcher", and also notes the confusion with similar namesakes in this period.^[5]

Baptism records for some of his children have been found, with the surname spelt variously Bucher, Boucher, Boursher and Bursher.^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume I, pages 491-2 BOURCHIER 17.
2. ↑ 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), volume I pages 277-291 BOURCHIER.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry, I:290-291 BOURCHIER 14., 15.
4. ↑ Clay, JW: Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, with Additions, Vol 1, page 305, II.2
5. ↑ ^{5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11} History of Parliament Online: Sir John Bourchier (accessed 11 April 2019).
6. ↑ Richardson's Royal Ancestry (I:491 BOURCHIER 17.), has his birthdate as after 1563.
7. ↑ Spelled "Beningbrough" today and in Richardson and other sources, although his biography posted by History of Parliament Online spells it "Beningborough".
8. ↑ Names of children listed are the same as those listed in Richardson's Royal Ancestry (I:492 BOURCHIER 17.), but the order in is different than Richardson gives, since they are listed from oldest to youngest, based on the birth years given in their profiles as of 11 April 2019). A citation was added for children listed with more information than just their name.
9. ↑ Harry Culverwell Porter, Alexander Whitaker: Cambridge Apostle to Virginia, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 3 (July 1957), pp. 342-343 (footnote 71) - viewable at JSTOR, (free) account signup required.
10. ↑ Text of Charter at http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1600-1650/the-third-virginia-charter-1612.php
11. ↑ The Jamestowne Society announced John Bourchier as a new qualifying ancestor in its Fall 2019 issue (bottom of page 8, accessed 17 January 2020):
    

    A9735: Sir John Bourchier (b. 1557/8, d. 1626 in England), Stockholder in Virginia Company of London. His daughter Mary Bourchier married Jabez Whitaker (A8703).

12. ↑ See discussion at soc.genealogy.medieval.

• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.
• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
• Clay, JW: Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, with Additions, Vol 1, pub. William Pollard 1899, pages 305-6, II (daughter Mary omitted).
• History of Parliament Online: Sir John Bourchier (accessed 11 April 2019).

See also:

• Lewis, Marlyn. Sir Ralph Bourchier, Sheriff of Yorkshire, Keeper of Rochester Castle, entry in "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors and Cousins" database (accessed 11 April 2019). Note: Listed as reliable "with Conditions" on the Magna Carta Project's Reliable Sources page.

Acknowledgments

Magna Carta Project

John Bourchier appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestor Mary Bourchier to Magna Carta Surety Baron Henry de Bohun (vol. I, pages 277-291 BOURCHIER). This profile was developed in accordance with project standards by Michael Cayley in April 2019 and was badged 5 July 2019 by Noland-165. Additionally, the Bourchier to Bohun trail connected this profile to previously-badged trails to other surety barons including John de Lacy, Saher de Quincy, Gilbert de Clare, Richard de Clare, Robert de Vere, Hugh le Bigod and Roger le Bigod. These trails are set out in the Magna Carta Trails on 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".