Person Page 174

John and Elizabeth had nine children. Elizabeth’s mother, widow Gibbons, came to live with the Hunts and provide help to the household. John died in 1641, leaving a will:


John Hunt the elder of Cropredy in the countie of Oxon yeoman deceased Did in the time of his sickness whereof he dyed and the daie and yere above said gave and bequeathe unto Elizabeth his wife all his goods and cattells. And desired her to be good to his children all which words the said John Hunt spake in the presence and hearing of John Hunt.


Anne Toms

her mark


Probate: July Elizabeth Hunt Relict of John Snr.



John died, and left a will in the Perogative Court of Canterbury in 1641.

Justinyan Hunt was christened 10 April 1548 in Cropredy, the son of John and Jone Hunt. He married Elizabeth Garner 20 October 1585 in Wardington, Oxfordshire.

Justinian is a husbandman, like his father, with 3 1/2 yardlands of property. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had nine children. Six of their children survived. Elizabeth passed away after the birth of their last son in 1599. “The youngest died and was buried with his mother Elizabeth in March 1599, leaving the father to cope with two boys and four girls. Staff had always been needed and he continued to manage in this way until his sudden death ten years later. Justinian had attended the sick widow Toms next door, and shortly after he had to ask the vicar, Thomas Wyatt the blacksmith, and the miller Cross to come and witness his own will.” The Town of Cropedy; Pamela Keegan Elizabeth was buried 31 March 1599 in Cropredy.


Justinyan died of the plague in 1609, leaving a will and inventory of his property. He had increased the house to include a chamber beneath the entry, an upper chamber over the entry, a hall with chimney, a kitchen, a chamber over the hall with a joyned bedstead, a chamber over the butterie, a kilne house with a loft over it, and a dea house. This was one of the top farms for the village in the turn of the 1600s. His property was worth 272 pounds. He grew barley and "pease", and had seven cows, four horses, 63 sheep, and swine. "The farmer Hunts lived on the Green. They had smaller yards behind, which was amazing how Hunts fitted in their Cowpen, grass yard and courtyard in which they had wooden buildings called hovells with standings, lofts, they built themselves and being moveable belonged to the tenant not the landlord. They put on the scaffold their peese haulm, wood or straw and renewed the roof the following autumn for by then the wood may have been used and the haulm fed to cattle and also the straw. They had a rare bullock yard. Because the farmers could only keep four cows per yardland they mostly kept milch cows, the calf going to market and the milk made into cheese or butter. The few calves left to replace the cows were kept to a minimum. They had not the land in the Open Field to accommodate beef cattle, so it is surprising that they did here. I can only think they had land elsewhere as well for rearing the beef, not mentioned in Inventorys as not moveable. They could of course have been butchers as well as farmers. No butcher has surfaced for late 16c or early 17c. Notice the rooms expanded between John and Justinian. The latter died when a plague of some sort carried off several of the villagers. As they went from one house to the other making wills and then inventories they seem to have caught the "bug". It will be noticed that they came straight in to do Justinian's Inventory. No doubt with so many dying, while they took their leave of him they dealt with his affairs. This was "not done" but I expect they had no alternative." Pamela Keegan



Will of Justinian Hunt Husbandman of Cropredy

Made 4 April 1609

Proved 10 April 1609


Extracts:

My body to be buried in the Cropredy Churchyard


Money left:

To the poorest in Cropredy

To the repaire of the Church

To the repaire of the causeway goeing towards the Town fence crosse (The "cup and saucer" town cross on the west bank of the Green. Here the people gathered to drink after cutting the meadows.)

To Alice Hunt my daughter £10 to be paid within 5 years after my decease or at her marriage

To Jane my daughter £10 to be paid 6 years after my decease or at her marriage

To Mary my daughter £10 to be paid 7 years after my decease or at her marriage

To Joyce my daughter £10 to be paid 8 years after my decease or at her marriage

Also to my daughters the one half of all my linnen divided by my overseers

To every of my daughters a coffer

That the daughters be kept in meat, drink, and apparell until honestly provided for in decent and orderly service at the charge of my Executors.

To my son William £10 at 22 years

To my son John Hunt the Rest and Residue. He to be sole Executor


Overseers: Thomas Hollowaye (Vicar)

Edward Lumbert (Neighbor farmer)

Thomas Wyatt (Neighbor blacksmith)



Witnessed by:

Thomas Holloway

Thomas Wyatt
John Cross (Miller)


Inventory Taken 6 April 1609 by Thomas Holwaye vicar, William Hall, Henry Broughton, Edward Lumbert, and Thomas Wyatt


Imprimis his wearinge Apparell

One cloke



In the chamber beneth the Entrye


One Presse

One bedstead, two troughes six loomes two
barrells one churne and two kivers
Certeine wooll
One woolbed one bolster three pillowbeares
three blankets one kiverlid one thrumcloth and
two winnoclothes
Eight sackes one strike six sives one wheele



In the upper chamber above the same roome

one cheste one coffer one Boxe one corne trye

fowre teales
Seaven payre and one sheete two towells one
tablecloth ffive pillowclothes ffower aprons
one shert one chrystening sheete, ffoire
smockes seaven table napkins thhree henchiefes
two handkerchiefs and other small peeces of linnen
a Gowne and one bearing cloth


In the hall house

A table with a fframe two fformes one

falling table two cheeres two stooles one
cubber (cupboard) and one pen and two benches
Eight Pewter Platters three sauces two salts
foure porringers and two pewter cups
foure potts one dommet one skillet ffive kettles
One skimer three candlestitces one spicemarte and a pestill
One spit one payre of cobbenth a payre of
Tongues a ffire shovle a payre of bellowes two
payre of ppothookes
And a payre of hangells
A ffrying pan and a gryd Iron
An Iron grate


In the kicsin (kitchen)

A head a mesh fat

a boltinge which (for flour) a moulding stocke a forme
and a stell
Ten flychis of Bacon and ffive of beef



In Chamber above the Hall

A Joynedbed a cubbert and Five coffers

One heling a thrumcloath a blanket one
payre of sheetes a flocbed a bolster and a
t---lie (?) cloth
Six payre of sheetes three borde clothes
Seaven table napkins two wallets
and two hand towells



Butterie

Ffive Barrels and a larme (vat) a tuning boule

And the stelle
Seaven Bottells and a lanthorne



In the Chamber over the butterie

three Bedsteads and furniture to two of the beds

A coffer a payre of two selle and a wood hurdle
a tod (28 lbs of wool) of lockes and three fleeces of black wool
ffourtye of linnen yearne and a Tod of hempe and one plancke and two payre of cardes
(cards for preparing wool for spinning)



In the Chamber over the Cutrie

the bed and furniture to the same (bedding)

a garner and 18 strikes of mault in the garner



A lofte over the Kilne house (Few had kilns for malting barley)

A fat (vat) a gige and Eight boards and a

planke a hayre and rough hempe



In the Kilne House

A Mault Mill and old barrell



In the deahouse

A cheese presse one chese frame a kneeding

trough musterd mill a kiver a lome (vat) three
payles six chese fates two boules ffower
Milke pans ffive butter potts a pich pan two
Ship brands (sheep brands) and cheese, laddr and a Pecke
Three Iron Found Carte and one Barne cart
Fffive Harrowes and ffive ploughs
One hovell with hallme in the innard court
A hovel with halme in the cowpen with
standers for bease and --lakes (?)
A second hovell in the cowpen with wood and
flaggetts upon it



In the Rickyard

A worke hovell with a

garner there standing with working tooles and
plough timber and divers other goods
A second longe hovell with wood hey corne
Barleye and Pease upon yt
Saccocd (?) Boards and other harrowe timber
Two woodpiles of wood with other timber and
of fell wood
Three score and three sheepe
Seven Beasse two yearlings calves and an
weanning calfe
ffour horses and mares and a yearlyinge
coltes
the swine
the poultreye
the corne in the barne
certaine scaffold and certaine heye
the horse geares and three cartropes
certaine olde strawe and Ladders
the crop in the fielde
the remaynder of yeares in two Leases
Some totals £272 - 1s - 10d





Justinyan and Elizabeth had the following children:


1. Joanne, christened 7 November 1584 in Cropredy.


2. John, christened 21 November 1585 in Cropredy; married Elizabeth Gibbins 9 May 1610 in Cropredy; died 1641.


3. Thomas, christened 13 August 1587 in Cropredy.


4. Alyce, christened 27 February 1588/9 in Cropredy.


5. Joanne, christened 10 October 1590 in Cropredy.


6.William, christened 16 August 1591 in Cropredy; married Ellin Pratt 30 December 1614 in Cropedy.


7. Mary, christened 8 February 1594/5 in Cropredy.


8. Joyce, christened 13 February 1596/7 in Cropredy.


9. John, born 31 March 1599 in Cropredy.



SOURCES: Cropredy parish register; “The Town of Cropredy”, Pamela Keegan; Wardington parish register.

Arthur Sheldon: Born 1575, Ashford, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Died 1651, Ashford, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Married about 1600, Stanton, Staffs, England; Mrs. Arthur Sheldon: Born 1585, Ashford, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. When his father died he inherited the cottage at Lowefield. His will follows:

The Will of Arthur Sheldon of Ashford, Co. Derby, Yeoman,

Weak in body, dated 10 June 1651. To be buried in the chapel of Ashford, Near William Lowe his seat there. To my son Ralph Sheldon 2s. 6d., and to his wife Barbara 2s. 6d. To my grandchild Isaak Sheldon £8. To [grandson] Samuell Sheldon £4. My Grandson Solomon Sheldon is to be kept one and one half years with meat and drink after my decease, at the cost of my executor. To my grandsons William, Thomas and John Wright 5s. Each. To [daughter] Anne White, Wife of Ralph White of Sheldon, £20. All the residue of my goods to [daughter] Elizabeth Lowe, wife of William Lowe of Ashford, and she is to be sole Executrix. Supervisor: Ralph White of Sheldon. [Signed] The mark of Arthur Sheldon. Witnesses: John Wright and John Ragge. Proved at Westminster 20 May 1653 by the executrix, Elizabeth, the wife of William Lowe.

Roger Sheldon: Born 1550, Monyash Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Died 30 September 1623, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Married 1592, Derby; Helen Woodcock: Born about 1554, Ashford, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. The earliest mention of Roger Sheldon is made in the Court Rolls of the Manor of High Peak Hundred, in 1566. He was assaulted by a young, distant cousin, George Sheldon, who was fined 3S. 4d. for the offense. When his father died he inherited a little cottage in Ashford called Lowefield which had belonged to his great-grandfather.

Richard Sheldon: Born 1525, Monyash, Ashford, Derbyshire, England; Died March 1590, Ashford, Bakewell, Derby, England; Married 1547, Bakewell, Derby, England; Mrs. Richard Sheldon: Born about 1529, Monyash Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. In 1572 his father gave to him, as the eldest son, the house and land in Monyash (which had been previously contested in his father's lifetime.) When his brother died without issue he became his brother's heir. This caused quite a stir in the family as his other brother Henry believed that he should be Roger's heir.

John Sheldon II: Born about 1495, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Died after 1572; Married Mrs. John Sheldon II: Born about 1505, of Bakewell, Derby, England; Died about 1525. John married twice though the names of neither of his wives are known. Numerous legal records of his life exist. He was frequently called to service as a juror. Several times his purchases of land were also recorded in court records when they were contested on legal grounds. In 1563 he is listed as a Yeoman.

John Sheldon: Born about 1470, Monyash Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Died about 1523, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. John Sheldon and his brother Richard were each fined 2d. for Brewing (presumably without a license) on 4 October 1514. His brother was frequently fined for this.

Born about 1440, Monyash Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Married Elizabeth (Sheldon): Born about 1442. "On Thursday next after the Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross, 5 Edward IV (8 May 1465), Richard, son of Hugh Scheledon, and Elizabeth, his wife, Conveyed to William Smyth a cottage and 7 acres of land in Monyash, Co. Derby." (Derbyshire Charters, Vol 2, No. 5) On 12 Nov. 1494 Richard Sheldon surrendered to his son John Sheldon a cottage and 4 acres of land in Ashford, Co. Derby (Vide infra, No. 5.)