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Dates for Children of Edmund Lewknor-47

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Contents

Birth/Baptism Dates for the Children of Edmund Lewknor

There are four source documents that provide birth or baptism dates for the children of Edmund Lewknor. There are issues with each of them.

  1. The parish register of Tangmere. mss, on FamilySearch microfilm #918267, img 360.[1] As the primary source record, it is preferred, but it is barely readable. May be viewable online depending on location.
  2. W. D. Peckham, “A Calendar of the Parish Register of Tangmere, Sussex, 1538-1812,” (Typescript, 1931) FamilySearch microfilm (two filmings with different catalog entries): #504433 (best) and #1364168.[2] Clearest and most readable of any of the sources, it is secondary, and does not include Elizabeth’s birth. May be viewable online depending on location.
  3. W. Sparrow Simpson, "On the Pilgrimage to Bromholm in Norfolk," Journal of the British Archaeological Association 30 (1874): 52-61 at 59-61.[3] This is a transcript of a family record written on the flyleaves of a pre-1500 Book of Hours apparently once owned by the Lewknors. Latin with printed roman numerals for dates. The Book of Hours is in the manuscript collection of the Lambeth Library, London: MS545f.[4]
  4. Digital images of two of the flyleaves mentioned in #3 above. The entries include the death's of Edmund's parents, his wife, an uncle, and the births of Edmund Lewknor’s six children. The births of Edmund and his siblings are not available. Written in Latin with scripted roman numerals for dates.

Those four sources give varying dates for the births/baptisms:

Child 1 Parish Register (baptisms) 2 Calendar (baptisms) 3 Article Transcript (births) 4 Images (births)
Elizabeth 2 Mar 1538 2 Mar 1538
Thomas Jan 1538 27 Jan 1538/9 27 Jan 1539 [sic] 27 Jan 1540
Anne 12 May 1540 12 May 1540 12 May 1545 12 May 1540
Richard 14 Mar 1541 14 Mar 1541/2 13 Mar 1541 14 Mar 1541
George Not readable 1 Nov 1542 1 Nov 1542 1 Nov 1542
Edmund 18 Dec 1543 18 Dec 1543 17 Dec 1543 18 Dec 1543

The 1874 article (#3 above) was important evidence in developing the proof of Rose Stoughton's descent from Royalty and a Magna Carta Baron.[5][6] The discrepancies and issues discussed and corrected here will not disprove that descent, but will resolve lingering chronological questions regarding Edmund’s children and their births.

Close scrutiny of the available images of the flyleaves and comparison with the article's transcription reveals some errors in the transcript and misunderstandings about the source.

First, it appears the entries were not made contemporary to the events: the deaths are perfectly printed by hand with no discernable variations between them and the birth/baptism events (covering a period from 1538/9 to 1543) were written in a flowing script again with no discernable variations.

Next, comparison of the dates in the 1874 article with the images of the flyleaves shows that three of the dates were transcribed incorrectly:

  1. Anne's date should be 12 May 1540 (not 1545);
  2. Richard's date should be 14 (not 13) March 1541 [1541/2];
  3. Edmund's date should be 18 (not 17) December 1543.

Corrected, those three dates, and George’s, all perfectly match the baptism dates given in the Calendar,[7] and those that can be seen in the parish register.[1]

As for Thomas, the date for him (in both the image and the article) is exactly one year off from what Peckham presents in the Calendar. To resolve this, in the introduction to the Calendar, Peckham reasoned that “In the first entry…I assumed Roman reckoning [starting on 1 January rather than Lady Day, 25 March] must be followed….” He confirmed this when he found a "proof of age" inquistion, given at Eastbourne, 6 June 2 Elizabeth (17 Nov 1559 - 16 Nov 1560) showing that Thomas, age 27, was baptized 27 January 30 Henry VIII (22 Apr 1538 - 21 Apr 1539).[8][9]

So, in spite of the latin indicating “Birth,” those dates in the article transcript and the images must be baptism dates, the births occurring sometime previously.

Elizabeth Lewknor

Following Peckham’s reasoning, Elizabeth’s birth as shown in the article and its source image, must also be rolled back one year to 2 March 1537/8, and is likely a baptism date, consistent with her five siblings.

Thomas Lewknor

A History of Parliament entry for Thomas Lewknor gives his birthdate as "c. 27 Jan. 1538".[10] In the light of the discussion above, this should be 1538/9.

Research Notes

The 2010 discussion in the soc.genealogy.medieval Google Group did not have the digital images available as we do today.[5]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 FamilySearch Image: S3HT-6LJ3-P19
  2. W. D. Peckham, “A Calendar of the Parish Register of Tangmere, Sussex, 1538-1812,” (Typescript, 1931)" FamilySearch Catalog
  3. W. Sparrow Simpson, "On the Pilgrimage to Bromholm in Norfolk," Journal of the British Archaeological Association 30 (1874): 52-61 at 59-61, Internet Archive
  4. Lambeth Library Catalog
  5. 5.0 5.1 Douglas Richardson, et al., “New Royal Lineage: Rose (Stoughton) Otis's descent from King Henry III of England,” 8 April 2010, soc.genealogy.medieval, newsgroup, Google Groups.
  6. Martin Hollick, "The Royal Line of Rose (Stoughton) Otis 1629-ca. 1677 of Dover, N.H.," 4 Feb 2010, Blog.
  7. Peckham, “A Calendar of the Parish Register of Tangmere,” 1.
  8. F. W. T. Atttree, "Notes of Post Mortem Inquistions Taken in Sussex: 1 Henry VII to 1649 and After," Sussex Record Society 14 (1912 ):143 (#654) Sussex Record Society Historic Volumes
  9. Peckham, “A Calendar of the Parish Register of Tangmere,” vi.
  10. P.W. Hasler, ed., The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603 , (Boydell and Brewer, 1981), History of Parliament Online, entry for Thomas Lewknor.

Acknowledgements

  • This page is based on extensive research by Greg Cooke and is essentially his work.




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