Margaret Harleston (abt. 1450 - aft. 1485)

Born about 1450 in England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 23 Sep 1485 after about age 35 in Bardwell, Suffolk, England [uncertain]

Margaret appears in the 1558 "Visitation of Essex" as the daughter and co-heir of John Harleston; John's wife is listed as Margery Bardwell.^[1]

Her birth year is currently estimated at 1450 based on the age of her husband but no real research has been done on her.

They had at least these children per the "Visitation":

1. Roger (mis-named "Robert" in 1558 but explicitly corrected in 1612; in 1558 the name "Roger" also appeared so a duplicate entry to "Robert") m. Elizabeth Wentworth
2. Sir Thomas, Knigh m. Anne Gattes
3. Margaret

Thomas appears in an Inquisition Post Mortem (IPM) dated "Monday after Palm Sunday, I Henry VII". I Henry VII ran from 22 Aug 15485 to 21 Aug 1486 and Easter Sunday in that period was 26 Mar 1486 meaning Palm Sunday was 19 Mar and the following Monday was 20 Mar 1486. The IPM noted that Thomas died "23 Sep last" i.e. 23 Sep 1485.^[2] The book in which this IPM appears noted that nothing more was legible other than "aged 7 and more, is his ...and next heir" and "His wife Margaret survives".

Will

Margaret left a will dated 19 Jul 1485, describing herself as a widow, late the wife of Thomas Darcy, Esq and being of Bardwell in the diocese of Norwich. ^[3]he requested burial beside her husband in the church of All Hallows, Malden. She made bequests to and mentioned:

• Dorothy Calthorpe, my goddaughter
• every other of my godchildren
• Margaret Stamford, my servant
• my son Roger
• my son Thomas
• my daughter Elizabeth
• my daughter (not named)
• Amy Montgomery
• my cousin Katherine Fraxmer
• John Clopton, esq
• Robert Crane
• Edward Clopton

Her will was probated in Jan 1489/90.

Research Notes

This profile originally stated without source that she died in 1520, at this point we can only say with certainty that she outlived Thomas.

Sources

1. ↑ The visitations of Essex by Hawley, 1552; Hervey, 1558; Cooke, 1570; Raven, 1612; and Owen and Lilly, 1634 : to which are added miscellaneous Essex pedigrees from various Harleian manuscripts, and an appendix containing Berry's Essex pedigrees v.13 by Metcalfe, Walter C. (Walter Charles) p. 187 1612 corrections and p. 44 Darcy lineage of 1588
2. ↑ Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem for 1485 death of Thomas Darcy (H.M. Stationery Office, 1898) Page 28
3. ↑ Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society: Essex Archaeological Society: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive Internet Archive Vol 4 pg 5