Family:Whitney, Eustace de (b1283-c1352)
Eustace de Whitney (Eustace, Robert, ...), son of Eustace de Whitney,[1] was born probably before 1283, Whitney, Herefordshire,[2] and died about 1352, Whitney, Herefordshire.[3]
He married firstly, about 5 Jun 1301, Elizabeth de Freville, daughter of Sir Alexander de Freville (died 1328), of Tarrington, co. Hereford, by his wife, Joan de Cromwell, daughter of Ralph and Mazera (Marmion) de Cromwell.[4]
He was probably the Eustace who married, sometime before his death, Isabella Gryseley. She married, secondly, Richard de Baskervyle, knight. Richard de Baskerville and Eustace de Whitney were related "in the fourth degree of kindred," (third cousins) but exactly how is uncertain.[5]
He was perhaps the "Eustach de Whyteneye" mentioned in the Pipe Roll of 1301-2, though it could have been his father.[6]
On 2 Sep 1304, "Eustace de Witney" and "Alexander de Frevile, knight" were listed as debtors of Walter de la Barre, citizen and merchant of Hereford., and Sibyl, his wife for the sum of 26m. 11s. 6d.[7]
He was knighted by Edward I. in 1306.[8]
On 8 Jun 1307, an order was sent by the King to the sheriff of Hereford instructing him to have "Eustace de Whyteneye" be seized of a messuage and 18 acres of land in "Chercheyerd". This land had previously been held by Orangia de Chercheyerd (who held the land of Eustace), but Orangia had been hanged for felony. Since Orangia's hanging one year and one day prior, the township of Pencombe had held the land, and the order requested an answer as to why this was the case.[9]
On 8 Jul 1307 "Eustace de Whitney-on-Wye (Whyteneye), of Herefords" was listed as a debtor of William Goodknave, of Hereford. for the sum of 7m.[10]
On 28 Feb 1308 "Eustace de Witney (Wyteneye)" was listed as a debtor of William Goodknave of Hereford. for the sum of 7m.[11]
On 26 Jun 1308 "Eustace de Witney (Wyteneye), Stephen de la Newton (de la Neuton'), and John de Grendon (Grendene), of Herefords." were listed as debtors of John de Madley (Maddeleye), citizen [merchant] of Hereford. for the sum of 21m.[12]
On 4 Oct 1308 "Eustace de Witney (Whyteneye)" was listed as a debtor of William Goodknave, merchant of Hereford. for the sum of 7m.[13]
He was a Member of Parliament for Herefordshire in 1313 and 1352.[14]
In 1333, Eustace de Whitney, lord of Whitney at the request of Sir Roger de Whitney, Philip de Pencombe, William de KeKynwyche, William de Almaly and others granted to the commoners and landowners of Clifford, for a sum of money paid to him, licenced to pasture their animals on land belonging to him called la brome.[15]
In 1346 he was taxed in the Hundred of Brokesash "Et de xl. s. receptis de Eustachio de Whyteneye pro un. f. in PENCOMBE, quod tenetur de domino de Tregoz."[16]
Children of Eustace and Elizabeth (de Freville) de Whitney (order uncertain):
i. Robert de Whitney,[17] b. 1318, Whitney, Herefordshire.[18] ii. John de Whytneye.[19] He was probably the "John de Veteneye" who sent essoin (an excuse for nonappearance in court) through Seward de Pencombe from the Court of Pencombe, Tuesday before Saint Peter ad Cathedram 11 Edward III [18 Feb 1337][20] Was he perhaps the John Whitney, clerk to King Richard II? iii. (possibly) Thomas de Whitney,[21] installed as rector of Whitney in 1345.[22] "Thomas de Weteneye" was listed as a surety for a messuage grant, dated about 1336.[23]
References
1.^ He was lord of Whitney, following the earlier Eustace Whitney of that position, and was thus most likely his son.
2.^ He would have been at least 18 at the age of his first marriage.
3.^ He was a Member of Parliament in 1352, but by 1353 Robert de Whyten presented a rector to the Pencombe church, a right reserved for the head of the family.
4.^ "Memorandum of a bond by the bishop for 66l. 13s. 4d, to Eustace de Whyteneye, husband of Elizabeth de Frevyll, upon his marriage.", Bund, J. W. Willis, ed., for the Worcestershire Historical Society, Episcopal Registers, Diocese of Worcester: Register of Bishop Godfrey Giffard, Sept. 23rd, 1268, to August 15th, 1301 (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1902), p. 546
5.^ W. H. Bliss and C. Johnson, eds., Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Papal Letters, Vol. III A.D. 1342-1362, (Eyre and Spottiswoode: London, 1897), p. 537.
6.^ Pipe Roll 147: Mich 1301 to Mich 1302 (two lines above the stitching)
7.^ PRO Chancery Proceedings, C 241/45/200 - "1304 Sep 2 - Debtor: Alexander de Frevile, knight, of [Maund Whitechurch, Broxash Hundred] Herefords., Eustace de Witney, of Herefords. Creditor: Walter de la Barre [citizen and merchant] of Hereford., and Sibyl, his wife. Amount: 26m. 11s. 6d. Before whom: William Goodknave; John Lightfoot, Clerk; at Hereford."
8.^ Melville, Henry, A.M., LL.B., 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), chart between pp. 216-217.
9.^ Calendar of the Close Rolls Preserved in the Public Record Office: Preserved in the Public Record Office, Prepared under the Superintendance of The Deputy Keeper of the Records, vol. V Edward I, 1302-1307 (London: Mackie and Co., Ld., 1908), p. 503 Note that "Churchyard" is the name of a farm within Pencombe.
10.^ PRO Chancery Proceedings, C 241/53/258 - "1307 Jul 8 - Debtor: Eustace de Whitney-on-Wye {Whyteneye}, of Herefords. Creditor: William Goodknave, of Hereford. Amount: 7m. Before whom: William Goodknave; John Lightfoot, Clerk; at Hereford. First term: 09/10/1306 Last term: 09/10/1306 Writ to: Sheriff of Herefords Sent by: William Goodknave; John Lightfoot, Clerk; at Hereford."
11.^ PRO Chancery Proceedings, C 241/56/104 - "1308 Feb 28 - Debtor: Eustace de Witney {Wyteneye} Creditor: William Goodknave of Hereford. Amount: 7m. Before whom: William Goodknave; John Lightfoot, Clerk; at Hereford. First term: 09/10/1306 Last term: 09/10/1306 Writ to: Sheriff of Herefords Sent by: William Goodknave; John Lightfoot, Clerk; at Hereford."
12.^ PRO Chancery Proceedings, C 241/57/61 - "1308 Jun 26 - Debtor: Eustace de Witney {Wyteneye}, Stephen de la Newton {de la Neuton'}, John de Grendon {Grendene}, of Herefords. [held part of a fee in Broxash Hundred, Herefords] Creditor: John de Madley {Maddeleye}, citizen [merchant] of Hereford. Amount: 21m."
13.^ PRO Chancery Proceedings, C 241/61/49 - "1308 Oct 4 - Debtor: Eustace de Witney {Whyteneye} [of Herefords] Creditor: William Goodknave [merchant] of Hereford. Amount: 7m. Before whom: William Goodknave; John Lightfoot, Clerk; at Hereford. When taken: 25/07/1306 First term: 09/10/1306 Last term: 09/10/1306 Writ to: Sheriff of Herefords Sent by: William Goodknave; John Lightfoot, Clerk; at Hereford."
14.^ Melville, Henry, A.M., LL.B., 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), chart between pp. 216-217, and The House of Lords, p. 39.
15.^ Whitney and Clifford Manuscripts, item #1.
16.^ Inquisitions and assessments relating to feudal aids: with other analogous documents preserved in the Public Record Office, A. D. 1284-1431
17.^ "Robert de Wyteney, son and heir of Sir Eustace de Wyteney, Kt.", Whitney and Clifford Manuscripts, item #2.
18.^ Source for birth information of Robert de Whitney.
19.^ "Robert de Wyteney, son and heir of Sir Eustace de Wyteney, Kt. ... John de Wytneye, brother of the said Robert.", Whitney and Clifford Manuscripts, item #2.
20.^ Court of Pencombe - ref. A63/I/1/6 - date: 1335-1337 Herefordshire Record Office: Hampton Court Estate [A63/I/1 - A63/III/88]
21.^ Source for relationship between Eustace and Thomas de Whitney.
22.^ Morgan George Watkins, Collections towards the history and antiquities of the county of Hereford. In continuation of Duncumb’s history. Hundred of Huntington ... (Hereford: 1898), p. 86.
23.^ Court of Pencombe - ref. A63/I/1/6 - date: 1335-1337 Herefordshire Record Office: Hampton Court Estate [A63/I/1 - A63/III/88]
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