Jennet Constable (abt. 1461 - 1540)

Born about 1461 in Yorkshire

Ancestors

Wife of Randell Etherington — married [date unknown] in Holme Yorkshire

Descendants

Died 1540 at about age 79 in Holme on Spaldingmoor, Yorkshire, England

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Biography

Jennet Etherington of Holme on Spaldingmoor, widow of Randell, made her will on 17th October 1540 (proved York 1/8/1541). She names five children (sixth child, son Marmaduke, named in her husband's 1525 will, must have predeceased her).

Her surname is not known. According to the LDS Ancestral File^[1], she was the daughter of Sir Robert Constable (1423-88) of Flamborough and Agnes Wentworth, who also resided at Holme on Spaldingmoor. This relationship was lodged on the Ancestral File by the Mediaeval Families Unit of the Family History Library.^[2], she was the daughter of Sir Robert Constable of Flamborough (1414-23/5/1488) and Agnes Wentworth (1426-20/4/1496). However, she appears on none of the published visitations of the period.

According to the LDS entry, she was the 14th child of Robert and Agnes (who married 2/1/1442 when Agnes was about 16), which seems possible but not probable. However, it is not supported by any of the Yorkshire Visitations, which list five daughters of Robert of Flamborough: Margaret/Margery, Agnes, Elizabeth, Catherine and Anne, all of whom married knights whose names appear in relation to various Constables. There is no mention of the Etheringtons in any Constable will or deed of this period.

However, Jennet's will (1540) does refer to some monies 'in the hands of Sir Marmaduke Constable the Younger', which would be her nephew. Two of her children - Marmaduke and Agnes - were given strongly Constable family names. In 1558, Jennett's son William Etherington acquired the lands of Cattleholmes, formerly held by Sir Marmaduke Constable, suggesting further connection between the two families.^[3]

The Etheringtons and Constables both lived at Holme on Spaldingmoor, and, judging by his will, Randell was a man of respectable means. He also appears to have moved to Holme from Cumberland, possibly on his marriage.

In short, the parentage of Jennet cannot be established with any certainty, but it is arguable that she was a Constable.

Sources

Etherington & Constable wills, LDS Ancestral File

1. ↑ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Ancestral File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:1:MZF3-M3P : accessed 2016-03-12), entry for Janet CONSTABLE.
2. ↑ Medieval family Group Sheets compiled by the Medieval Family History Unit of the LDS, FHL film 1553977-1553985
3. ↑ Victoria History of the Counties of England "A History of the County of York, East Riding" Vol 8 p 274