Joan (Sydney) Cooke (1522 - 1561)

Born 1522 in Pebmarsh, Essex, England

Wife of Robert Cooke — married 1539 in Pebmarsh, Essex, England

Descendants

Died Dec 1561 at about age 39 in Pebmarsh, Braintree District, Essex, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: John Putnam [send private message]

Biography

Joan or Johann Syday (aka Sydney, Sydey) was born in 1522, the daughter of wealthy yeoman (independent landowner) John Syday and his wife, Helen (Unknown) Syday. She was born at the family manor in Pebmarsh, Essex, England. It is very probable, though not proven, that Joan had three older brothers: Christopher, Jeffrey, and Henry Sydey. She may have had other siblings. Alas, shortly after her 1522 birth, their mother, Helen Syday, died, possibly from childbirth complications, not uncommon at that time and place.

In 1539, in Wickford, Essex, England, Joan Syday (aka Sydney) married Robert Cooke, son of John Cooke, whose family also were important landowners in the village of Pebmarsh and surrounding areas of Essex, England. They lived in Pebmarsh although they had properties in several surrounding villages as well. Robert and Joan Cooke had 7 children together as follows:

1. Thomas Cooke, b. 1541; m. 3 times; d. 1621
2. John, the Elder, Cooke, b. ca. 1543 (possibly twins); d. bef. 1621
3. John, the Younger, Cooke, b. ca. 1543 (possibly twins); d. bef. 1621
4. Lawrence Cooke, b. ca. 1545
5. Helene ("Elene") Cooke (m. Wiscowe), b. ca. 1548
6. Margaret ("Margerie") Cooke (m. Sawen), b. ca. 1550; d. bef. 1621
7. Robert Cooke, b. ca. 1554

Joan's husband, Robert Cooke, yeoman of Pebmarsh, died in 1559. Joan wrote her Last Will and Testament on November 17, 1561, and it was proven after her death in December 1561, on January 12, 1562. It was clearly drawn up by a skilled lawyer as its provisions carefully circumscribed how Joan & Robert's oldest son, Thomas Cooke, could inherit their considerable estate while also providing for his minor-age brothers and sisters. An abstract follows:^[1]

"To Robert Coke, [sic = Cooke] my son, the moiety or half part of my two marshes and two fields of land, customary in Pebmarsh, called Reding-fen, Peryton-fen, Stanliefield and Willifield, which I hold of the manor of Pebmarsh, until such time as my eldest son Thomas Coke shall have conveyed to his brother Robert an estate in all those lands and tenements which Robert Coke, my late husband, held in the town of Halstead, whereupon the said Thomas Coke shall have the said moiety, to him and his heirs forever. To John Coke, my youngest son of that name, the other moiety of the said two marshes and two fields, until such time as the said Thomas my son shall have conveyed to the said John the younger the water-mill with the close of land thereunto belonging, whereupon the said Thomas shall have the said moiety, to him and his heirs forever."

"To the aforesaid Thomas, my son, one feather-bed, all my brewing vessels and brass hanging in the furnace, my best joined bedstead, my best cupboard, my conter table, my querne with the bin, my yeting vat, my fabting trough and all the stalls, shelves and ladders belonging to the house. I bequeath the whole residue of my stuff, utensils and implements to be equally divided amongst my six other children hereunder named: John the elder, John the younger, Lawrence, Robert, Elene and Margerie, at marriage or the age of eighteen."

"I bequeath all my jewels and apparel to be equally divided between my two daughters, with £ 10 in ready money to each of them at marriage or the age of eighteen. All residue to the said Thomas, my son, on condition that he pay to each of my sons John the elder and Lawrence £ 30 at the age of eighteen, and that he shall at his cost honestly keep, find and bring up all of his brothers and sisters until such time as they shall come to convenient age otherwise to provide for themselves. I name my aforesaid son Thomas and my loving brother-in-law John White executors, and my friendly cousin John Quedwell to be supervisor, and I bequeath to each of them 20s. besides his reasonable costs and expenses."

"Witnesses: John Sewall the elder, Christopher Sydey, Gyffrie [Jeffrey] Sydey, John Sewall the younger, Henry Sydey and others."

Sources

1. ↑ Duchy of Lancaster, Court Rolls, bundle 123, no. 1859, folio 88b, pg. 86. Cited on: Cooke Family History on Familysearch.org

See Also:

• Duchy of Lancaster, Court Rolls, bundle 123, no. 1859, folio 88b, pg. 86. Cited on: Cooke Family History on Familysearch.org

• Footprints Through Time - Robert Cooke on RootsWeb

• Joan Sydney on Myheritage.com Summary is Free; Paid $ subscription for details.

• Source S32 Repository: #REPO6 - Type: Ancestral File - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998; Family History Library, Address: 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150

• Source - Ancestry Family Trees - http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=225892&pid=438 - Repository: R2190409259 Ancestry.com, 360 West 4800 North, Provo, UT 84604 USA

Acknowledgements

• A WikiTree profile for this person was created through the import of master 11_12.ged on 21 October 2010.

• A WikiTree profile for this person was created through the import of Savage.ged on 21 February 2011.

• WikiTree profile Sydney-3 was created through the import of FISCUS Family Tree.ged on Jun 6, 2011 by Liisa Small. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Liisa and others.

• WikiTree profile Sydney-4 was created through the import of janicepaf.ged on Jun 20, 2011 by Mark Olsen. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Mark and others.

• WikiTree profile Sydney-5 was created through the import of Ed_s tree_2008-10-18_2011-07-29.ged on Jul 29, 2011 by Alexis Connolly. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Alexis and others.

• WikiTree profile Sydney-14 was created through the import of Putnam2-1_2010-01-02_2011-02-16_2011-10-11.ged on Oct 12, 2011 by John Putnam. See the Changes page for the details of edits by John and others.

• WikiTree profile Syday-3 was created through the import of Tracy S. Miller.ged on Dec 2, 2011 by Tracy Miller. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Tracy and others.