Family:Whitney, Robert (c1436-1494)
Robert Whitney (Eustace, Robert, Robert, Robert, Eustace, Eustace, Robert, ...), son of Eustace and Jennet (Russell) Whitney,[1] was born about 1436, Whitney, Herefordshire,[2] and died shortly before 6 October 1494, Whitney, Herefordshire.[3]
He married firstly, about 1460, Constance Touchet,[4] daughter of James and Alianore (de Holand) Touchet.[5] She was born about 1443, Heleigh, Staffordshire,[6] and died say 1464.[7]
He married secondly, say 1465, Elizabeth or Alice Vaughn,[8] daughter of Thomas and Ellen (Gethyn) Vaughn.[9] She was born in Hergest,[10] and died sometime after 4 May 1525.[11]
For a more detailed analysis of the order of Whitney's wives and the documentation of three of his children, see Adrian Benjamin Burke's two articles: "The Two Wives of Robert Whitney, Esq., Lord of Whitney: A Note on the Proof of Royal Descent of John Bevan," Foundations (2008) 2 (5):350-357, and "The Two Wives of Robert Whitney, Esq., Lord of Whitney: Additional Notes," Foundations (2008) 2 (6):451-454, plus David L. Kent's, "Letter to the Editor: The Two Wives of Robert Whitney," Foundations (2008) 2 (6):454 and Burke's response "Further Comment on Whitney," Foundations (2009) 3 (9). These articles are available through online subscription with The Foundation for Medieval Genealogy.
He was described as "Robert Whyteney, esq., lord of Whyteney" in a deed documenting the gift of a messuage and and 8 acres of arable land lying in Yeuanes Crofte to Howell ap Richard a Badam in 1474 (Whitney Manor Record #6). This record would indicate that he was not a knight, and that his death was at least after 1474.
- Robert Whitney of Whitney, etc. Probably a knight. An active participant in the War of the Roses. Attainted as a Yorkist by Lancastrian Parliament in 1459. Probably at battle of Mortimer's Cross in 1461. Subject of poem by Lewis Glyn Cothi on occasion of his marriage to great-granddaughter of Sir David Gam. He married as his first wife, Alice, daughter of Thomas Vaughn of Hergest by wife Ellen Gethyn. She died without male issue. He married as his second wife, Constance, who was the mother of Robert's children.[12]
- One of the Harleian Manuscripts, No. 1545, gives Robert issue by Alice, but the others, viz., Nos. 1159 and 1442, give it by Constance. That the latter are correct seems certain from the fact that his eldest son and heir was James, a name that had never before appeared in the Whitney family, and apparently not in that of Vaughan, but which was borne by the father of Constance, James Touchett, a famous man, whose memory would naturally be perpetuated.
- The manuscripts just quoted mention but one other child, a daughter Joan, who married Sir Roger Vaughan.[13]
- "I have noticed that some sources (Duncumb, the Hereford pedigrees, the The Golden Grove and thus de Salis) claim royal descent for the Whitneys through the marriage of Sir Robert Whitney to Constance [Touchet-AEG], d. of Lord Audley by his wife Eleanor, illegitimate daughter of Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, by Constance, his mistress, d. of Edmund de Langley, fifth son of Edward III. P. C. Bartrum (see above) is sure that Constance was Sir Robert's first wife and the only issue of that marriage was a daughter, Jane, who m. Roger Vaughn of Porthaml. Sir Robert's other children were by his second wife, Elizabeth, d. of Thomas Vaughn of Hergest. (See also Vis. Herefordshire, 1569, Harl. 615, ff. 60b., 61.)"[14]
It appears that after Robert Whitney died, his widow Elizabeth/Alice/Alianor (Vaughan) Whitney presided over the manorial court at Pencombe, being listed there on at least four occasions.[15] It therefore appears that she probably maintained control of the Whitney holdings until about 1522, after which time her grandson took over.
The arrangement of children here is according to Peter C. Bartrum.[16]
Children of Robert and Constance (Touchet) Whitney:
i. Joan Whitney,[17] b. say 1462;[18] m. Roger Vaughn of Porthaml. ii. Eustace Whitney,[19] b. ca. 1463, m. Joan Trussell.
Children of Robert and Elizabeth (Vaughn) Whitney, order and birth dates uncertain:
iii. James Whitney,[20] b. say 1466, Whitney, Herefordshire;[21] m. Blanche Milbourne. iv. Ellen Whitney,[22] b. say 1468, Whitney, Herefordshire;[23] m. John Puleston. v. John Whitney,[24] b. say 1471, Whitney, Herefordshire;[25] "of Bacherwyd" (Boughrood).[26] Could he have been the father of Thomas Whitney of Boughrood? vi. Eleanor Whitney,[27] b. say 1473, Whitney, Herefordshire;[28] m. Thomas Vaughan of Bredwardine.[29] vii. Sibyl Whitney,[30] b. say 1475, Whitney, Herefordshire;[31] m. Roger Vaughan of Hergest. viii. Elisabeth Whitney,[32] b. say 1477, Whitney, Herefordshire;[33] m. John Pye of Mynde. He was perhaps the John Pye whose epitaph read "1550. Here lyeth the Body of John Pye of Minde, a travayler in far countryes, his life ended; he left behind him Walter, his son, heire of Minde; a hundred and six yeares he was truly, and had sons and daughters two and forty!"[34] "John Pye of the mynde, sone of Jon. pye, seconde sone of Jon. pye of Sadlebowe, esq., married 3 wiefes; his first wief was Anne, da. to Sr. Richard Delabyre, knight; his second wief was Anne Brigees; and his third wief was alrothes, da. to Sr. Robert Whitney, lord of Whitney. Hee had bye theme 42 children; And hee had by Concubines 22 Children. Soe that in all hee ...."[35] ix. Hugh Whitney,[36] b. say 1479, Whitney, Herefordshire;[37] of The Hay, Breconshire. x. Robert Whitney.[38] Perhaps the same as Robert Whitney, ancestor of the Whitneys of Castleton.[39]
References
1.^ Henry Melville, The Ancestry of John Whitney: Who, with His Wife Elinor, and Sons John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Jonathan, Emigrated from London, England, in the Year 1635, and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts; the First of the Name in America, and the One from Whom a Great Majority of the Whitneys Now Living in the United States Are Descended (New York, NY: The De Vinne Press, 1896), p. 90.
2.^ The date is an estimate based on ages of relatives.
3.^ Whitney and Clifford Manorial Records, Document #11 Deed between Simon Milbourne, Esq. among others, and Robert Whitney, Esq., dated 8 March 1492 and Abstract of the Will of "Robart Whitteney, esquire of Whitteney" dated 6 October 1494, M. A. Faraday and E. J. L. Cole, editors, Calendar of probate and administration acts 1407-1541 and abstracts of wills 1541-1581 in the court books of the Bishop of Hereford (London: British Record Society, 1989); microfiche, New York Public Library.
4.^ Ibid. States that Constance Touchet was the first wife of Robert Whitney.
5.^ Wikipedia, under "James Touchet, 5th Baron Audley".
7.^ She must have died after the birth of her daughter, and before the marriage of her widower to his second wife.
8.^ Melville, op. cit., pp. 101-112. The original Welsh of the poem by Cothi says her name was "alis merch Thomas ab rogers".
9.^ Henry Melville, The Ancestry of John Whitney: Who, with His Wife Elinor, and Sons John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Jonathan, Emigrated from London, England, in the Year 1635, and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts; the First of the Name in America, and the One from Whom a Great Majority of the Whitneys Now Living in the United States Are Descended (New York, NY: The De Vinne Press, 1896), p. 103.
10.^ The date is an estimate based on the age of relatives.
11.^ The latest record of the widow Elizabeth Whitney, see infra, note 15.
12.^ Melville, op. cit., p. 216.
13.^ Melville, op. cit., p. 115.
14.^ Thomas Kennedy Butcher, "The Pedigree of Whitney, reproduced in The Whitney Family of Connecticut, by Stephen Whitney Phoenix: An Investigation," (Henley-on-Thames: 1987).
15.^ "Court of Elizabeth, relict of Robert Whitney, Esq.", A63/I/2/5, 4th May, 17 Henry VIII 1525; "Court held Tuesday, 4 November, 8 Henry VIII 1516 Court of Elizabeth, widow of Robert Whitney, esq., Tuesday 9 June 8 Henry VIII 1517", A63/I/2/6, 1516-1517; "Court of Alianor, relict of Robert Whitney esq., Tuesday after the Feast of S. Lenard Abbot", A63/I/2/7, 10 Henry VIII 9 Nov. 1518; "Court of Elizabeth, relict of Robert Whitney", A63/I/2/8, Tuesday 6 Feb 12 Henry VIII 1521/2, all contained in the Manor of Pencombe records included in the Hampton Court Estate Collection at the Herefordshire Record Office.
16.^ Peter C. Bartrum, Welsh genealogies, A.D. 1400-1500 (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1983), under "Whitney 1".
17.^ Peter C. Bartrum, Welsh genealogies, A.D. 1400-1500 (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1983), under "Whitney 1".
18.^ The date is an estimate based on the age of relatives.
19.^ Gary Boyd Roberts, Royal Descendants of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies.
20.^ M. A. Faraday and E. J. L. Cole, editors, Calendar of probate and administration acts 1407-1541 and abstracts of wills 1541-1581 in the court books of the Bishop of Hereford, (London: British Record Society, 1989); microfiche, New York Public Library. Extract of Will of Sir Henry Whitney, Chaplain at Weobley states Administrator is the distinguished Master Robert Whitney, Esquire and James, son of said Robert, Page 135; Extract of Will of Robert Whitney, Esquire of Whitney, Executors are Elizabeth his relict, and James his son, Page 139.
21.^ The date is an estimate based on the age of relatives.
22.^ Peter C. Bartrum, Welsh genealogies, A.D. 1400-1500 (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1983), under "Whitney 1"; PULESTON (A, sub 1): John Puleston Hen l.1485-1519 (DWB) of Bers (H 255a, 6696,888a,930a) married (3) Elen d. Robert Whitney (1).
23.^ The date is an estimate based on the age of relatives.
24.^ The Golden Grove.
25.^ The date is an estimate based on the age of relatives.
26.^ The Golden Grove.
27.^ Peter C. Bartrum, Welsh genealogies, A.D. 1400-1500 (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1983), under "Whitney 1".
28.^ The date is an estimate based on the age of relatives.
29.^ Pedigree of the ancient family of Dolau Cothi [The Johnes family. By John Rowland]
30.^ Peter C. Bartrum, Welsh genealogies, A.D. 1400-1500 (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1983), under "Whitney 1" and Vol. 6 pp 980 for pedigree of Roger Vaughan, son of Richard of Chanston.
31.^ The date is an estimate based on the age of relatives.
32.^ Peter C. Bartrum, Welsh genealogies, A.D. 1400-1500 (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1983), under "Whitney 1".
33.^ The date is an estimate based on the age of relatives.
34.^ Mark Antony Lower, M.A., English Surnames: An Essay on Family Nomenclature, Historical, Etymological, and Humorous; with Several Illustrative Appendices Third Edition, Vol., I (London: John Russell Smith, 1849), p. 180.
35.^ Llyfr Baglan, p. 57.
36.^ Peter C. Bartrum, Welsh genealogies, A.D. 1400-1500 (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1983), under "Whitney 1".
37.^ The date is an estimate based on the age of relatives.
38.^ "Robert Whitney, son of Robert Whitney, esq., deceased" is mentioned in Whitney and Clifford Manorial Records, Document #208, Gift of messuages, lands and tenements in the township of Clifford between Richard Welford, Robert Whitney, son of Robert Whitney, esq., deceased; William Wallewyn and Thomas ap Jenkyn and Simon Milborn, esq., John Breynton and Thomas Cockes, dated 28 Sep 1512.
39.^ Sir James Whitney, great great grandson of Robert is called "neere cousen" of Thomas Whitney of Castleton. Because of this, it is believed that Thomas Whitney of Castleton's grandfather, Robert Whitney, was the son of this Robert. Archive:REQ 2/284/30
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