William Porter (abt. 1540 - 1571)

Born about 1540 in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

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Biography

In 1557 William was named in the will of his father Anthony. ^[1]

After his father's death, William and his widowed mother Grisigone paid the heavy debts left by Anthony Porter. they were also named in a 1560 deed naming the lands and tenements which were part of his mother's jointure. ^[2]

William Porter was the father of Edmund Porter, and paternal grandfather of the celebrated courtier, Endymion Porter.

Dorothea Townshend in her 1897 biography of Endymion Porter observed that he was the son of Edmund Porter and the grandson of William Porter, son of Anthony Porter. The Visitation of Warwickshire (1619) shows William Porter (husband of ___ Tirrell) as d.s.p. but this is not correct.

William Porter got caught up in the scandalous matter of trying to take ownership of the lands of William Clopton using false documents etc. Ludowick Greville was a participant in the scheme which led to years of litigation and family discord. Edmund Catesby, uncle to Sir William Catesby and husband of William Porter's sister, was compromised, being a witness to a fraudulent conveyance. Also compromised were Abraham Greville, Sir Fulke Greville and Sir John Conway.

Dorothea Townshend says that Nicholas Porter was the elder son of William Porter, and grandson of Anthony Porter.

I am now assuming that the Porter descent was intentionally distorted (for presentation in the Visitation of Warwickshire 1619) to edit out the scandal.

Any verification of dates for the Porter family of Mickleton and Aston, Gloucestershire, is most welcome.

A William Porter was buried at Aston-sub-Edge 4 February 1570, according to the Parish Register. [Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica (1841)]

William Porter son of Anthony Porter was a godson of William Latimer, brother of Elizabeth Latimer who married Richard Porter. [Will of William Latimer]

Details of the scheme by Ludowick Greville and William Porter to obtain the manor of Aston-sub-Edge from William Clopton, by false deeds, in order to sell the manor to Francis Alford of London, are set out in Gloucestershire Notes & Queries (1879).

In about 1562, William Porter gave Ludowick Greville a bond for 2000 pounds, apparently to finance various business deals of William Porter that went sour.

"Amongst the Domestic State papers temp. Elizabeth is a bond of William Porter, of Aston Underedge, to Lodovic Grevile, of Milcote, Warwickshire, in 2,000 [pounds], dated April 1, 1564."

Sources

1. ↑ Original data: Gloucestershire Probate Records. Diocese of Gloucestershire, Finding Reference GDR, Wills and Inventories. Gloucestershire Archives, Gloucester, UK. Ancestry.com. Gloucestershire, England, Wills and Inventories, 1541-1858 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Ancestry Record 4294 #18951
2. ↑ Gloucestershire Archives Finding reference D5626/1/1 Gloucestershire Heritage Hub

• Family records.
• Gloucestershire Notes & Queries (1879)
• Gloucestershire Notes & Queries (1887)
• Gloucestershire Notes & Queries, Vol. 4 (1890)
• Life and Letters of Endymion Porter (1897)
• The Rambler, Vol. 5 pp 170-71