Thomas Ruggles Esq. (abt. 1497 - abt. 1547)

Born about 1497 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died about Jun 1547 at about age 50 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England

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Biography

The parents of Thomas Ruggles (or Ruggle or Rogyll) of Sudbury, Suffolk, are unknown. His birthplace and birthdate are estimated. The basis for his 1497 estimated birthdate is unclear, and it should be regarded as a rough estimate until a source appears. Presumably, it was arrived at by subtracting 50 years from the approximate date of death.

An 1894 article by Henry S. Ruggles claims that both the English and American Ruggles families trace their descent from the Thomas, Esq. of this profile. Ruggles gives the arms born by Thomas Ruggles, Esq., of Sudbury as: "Argent, a chevron between three roses gules; Crest - a tower or, flaming at the top proper and transfixed with four arrows in saltire argent". These are the the same arms as Ruggeley of Staffordshire.^[1][2] The arms are also described in Burke's General Armory.^[3]

Citing John Sydney Hawkins Life of George Ruggles (1787), which was sanctioned by the English representative of the family at the time, Ruggles states: "His father was descended from an ancient and reputable family of the name Ruggeley, who were originally of Staffordshire". About 10 Henry V (1422), the family resided at Hawkesbeard, Staffordshire, and, about the same time, Nicholas Ruggeley, Esq. removed from Hawkesbeard to Dunton, Staffordshire, where he established another branch of the family.^[1]

It is thought that the family may have adopted their surname from a Staffordshire town named Ruggeley and that they removed from there to Hawkesbeard. This is assumed based on two men in this family using the Latin preposition "de" (of) affixed to their surnames: William de Ruggele and Simon de Ruggeley.^[1]

About the beginning of the 16th century, a younger branch of the Nicholas Ruggeley family removed first to Lincolnshire and soon after to Suffolk.^[1] In 1898, Ruggles elaborated on Thomas' story sayings that Thomas, with his younger brother William, came from Holton Holgate, Lincolnshire and settled in Suffolk.^[4]

The name of Thomas' wife is unknown; it is unknown when or where they married. Thomas was the father of:

• Nicholas, of Sudbury, Suffolk, married and had seven children^[2]
• John, of Stanstead, Suffolk, left a will proved 19 May 1566^[2]
• Ann^[2]
• Elizabeth^[2]

In 1538 Thomas Rogyll sued Thomas Marschall of Sudbury, yeoman, in the court of Common Pleas for defamation, for saying, "Thomas Rogyll thow art a false knave & a thefe for thow hast often tymes stolyn wollen cloth from the fullyng myll."^[5]

Thomas likely died in Sudbury, England. Ruggles says that he left a will dated 21 June 1547.^[1][2] The will of Thomas Rogyll of Sudbury, 1547, is in the Suffolk Archives, but is not available to be ordered.^[6] It is assumed that the names of his children were found in his will.

Research Notes

Additional Sources

Of the known secondary sources, Cutter (1908)^[7] seems to derive from Ruggles (1897) on the subject of the present Thomas Ruggle/s, though Cutter respells the surname from Ruggle to Ruggles. These should probably not be regarded as independent sources.

One of the earliest sources found is a manuscript purportedly dated to 1788, "Pedigree of Thomas Ruggles of Clare in the County of Suffolk esquire 1788", which was formerly deposited with the Essex Record Office but withdrawn in 1990.^[8] This is probably also reflected in an Essex pedigree collected in 1838 by William Berry.^[9] Neither of these pedigrees list parents for the Thomas of this profile.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Ruggles, Henry Stoddard. "Evidences of the Derivation of the Ruggles Families of England and America from that of Ruggeley of Staffordshire" in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York, NY: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Oct 1894, Vol. 25-26, p. 164-165. HathiTrust.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Ruggles, Henry Stoddard. "Five Generations of the Ruggles Lineage" in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York, NY: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Oct 1897, Vol. 27-28, p. 214-216. HathiTrust.org
3. ↑ Burke, Bernard. The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. London: Harrison & Sons, 1884, p. 878. Archive.org
4. ↑ Ruggles, Henry Stoddard. "The Ruggles Ancestry of Benjamin Ruggles U.S. Senator from Ohio 1815-1833" in The "Old Northwest" Genealogical Quarterly, Vols. 1-2. Columbus, OH: The "Old Northwest" Genealogical Society, 1898, Vol. 28, p. 214. Google Books
5. ↑ Anglo-American Legal Tradition (AALT) website: 1538 lawsuit
6. ↑ SuffolkArchives.co.uk: The original will of Thomas Rogyll of Sudbury, 1547, ref # IC/500/1/38/65
7. ↑ Cutter, William Richard, Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, Vol. 4. Baltimore, MD: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1908, p. 1877. Archive.org.
8. ↑ Essex Record Office (UK), Catalog No. D/DRs F1. Photographic copy previously available in 2017 is no longer available
9. ↑ Metcalfe, W. C., ed. The visitations of Essex by Hawley, 1552; Hervey, 1558; Cooke, 1570; Raven, 1612; and Owen and Lilly, 1634. London: Harleian Society, 1879, p. 702. Google Books

See also:

• Burke, John. A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry; Or, Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Etc. Vol. 1. London: Henry Colburn, 1837, p. 486. Google Books (says will was proved 21 June 1547)