09
Mar
2023
John Bach of Dudley, died 1640
John Bach of Dudley, yeoman, left a will, probate 12 Aug 1640. He names his wife as Isabel and his children in the order William, Richard and John and daughters Isabel and Elizabeth. Continue reading →
17th Century
26
Dec
2022
Humphrey Woodhouse, died 1629
Humphrey Woodhouse of Rowley Regis, who died and left a will in 1629, is an interesting genealogical link between the Turton, Woodhouse, Darby families at this time, all discussed in detail elsewhere on this site Continue reading →
25
May
2022
Thomas Smalbroke of Handsworth
Thomas Smalbroke of Handsworth died and left a will, probate 1649. He was the second son of Thomas Smalbroke (will PCC 1609) and his wife Elizabeth Colmore, born in about 1584. Both the Smalbrokes and Colmores owned substantial amounts of land around what is now the city centre of Birmingham Continue reading →
14
May
2022
William Cookes of Snitterfield, died 1617
When William Cookes died in Snitterfield, Warwickshire in 1617, he was a wealthy man with eight surviving children. His oldest son was Henry Cookes of Handsworth who was married to Anna or Ann Cookes, discussed on this site. Continue reading →
26
Mar
2020
William Hayward of Little Wenlock, died 1639
William Hayward of Little Wenlock died in 1639 and left a will. He was the son of William Hayward, who had died in 1602. William was the father of two sons, George and William Hayward. It is clear he was also the grandfather of a fourth generation, William Hayward (1642-1708), who married Mary Pudsey in Trysull, Staffs in 1665. It is less clear whether the son, George, or the son William, is the father of this fourth William. Continue reading →
01
Jan
2020
RIchard Crosse of Sedgley
The Court of Chancery document C2/JasI/C24/13 in the National Archives perhaps provides some intriguing evidence about the relationship between the Crosse family and the Whitehouse family in Coseley, in the parish of Sedgley, Staffordshire, in the mid 17th century. Continue reading →
03
Dec
2019
William Baker of Coseley
William Baker, a yeoman of Coseley, died and left a will in 1696. This will identifies him as the father of Elizabeth Shaw the wife of Richard Shaw of Cinder Hill, Sedgley. Elizabeth Baker had married Richard Shaw on 9 Nov 1691 in All Saints Sedgley. Continue reading →
05
Oct
2019
Robert Amberson, Merchant of Bristol
Robert Amberson was probably born about 1612 in London and died in Bristol in 1685, leaving a will. Continue reading →
27
May
2019
Thomas Dolman of Seisdon
Thomas Dolman was baptized in All Saints, Trysull on 8 Sep 1611 and was one of a group of minor Staffordshire Gentry and Mercers who supported Parliament in the Civil War. He served on the Parliamentary Committee at Stafford in 1643 and worked closely with William Bendy. Continue reading →
17
May
2019
William Pynson of Wolverhampton
William Pynson of Wolverhampton left a will with probate in 1670. He was an attorney and is connected to a number of the families discussed on this site. His will is particularly interesting as it names so many of his relatives. Continue reading →
07
May
2019
Ann Cookes of West Bromwich
Ann Cookes, a widow of West Bromwich, left a will in 1645 that lists a large number of bequests that cover important family lines discussed on this site. She was evidently childless but the list of legacies indicates that she was a close relation to the Darby and Finch families. She is very likely the widow of Henry Cookes of Handsworth, who left a will in 1642, and the marriage date would appear to be before 1607. Continue reading →
21
Apr
2019
Thomas Bradley of the Wood, Sedgley
In Dugdale’s 1663 Visitation of Staffordshire the Bradley family (disclaimed 1664) is traced back to a Thomas Bradley of Baggeridge Forest (‘The Wood’) in Sedgley, Staffordshire. Later on, this Bradley family are simply all described as of ‘the Wood’ in Sedgley. Continue reading →
20
Mar
2019
Thomas Elwall of Ettingshall, Sedgley
Thomas Elwall, yeoman of Ettingshall, died in early 1716 leaving a will written in 1712. Here he lists his four children as Thomas Elwall, Edward Elwall, Elizabeth Gibbens and Mary Elwall. The following sequence of baptisms can be found in the All Saints, Sedgley Parish register viz. Thomas (bap 21 Aug 1673), Edward (bap 9 Nov 1676), Elizabeth (No Baptism found), Mary (bap 22 Oct 1670) Continue reading →
03
Mar
2019
John Shaw of Kingswinford, 1606-1674
This article is designed to disambiguate some of the ‘John Shaws’ alive in Dudley and the surrounding areas in the early Seventeenth Century. It focuses on the John Shaw, who Richard Shaw describes as his ‘natural son’ in his 1657 will and is also described as his ‘natural brother’ in the 1646 will of Richard Shaw, the younger. His position amongst Richard Shaw’s children is a little enigmatic. Continue reading →
22
Sep
2018
John Cartwright of Rowley Regis, died 1661
John Cartwright, the elder, a yeoman of Rowley Regis died and left a will granted probate on 17 May 1661. We can be fairly confident that he is the John Cartwright referred to in the Dudley Archive document DE/4/7/11/14 where a 1585 grant of land by Edward Sutton, Lord Dudley is extended to the next generation of Cartwrights dated 17 May 1612. This makes John Cartwright the son of William Cartwright and names his two immediate siblings as William Cartwright (will 1668) and Alice Chambers alias Ireland. His grandfather is thus very likely to be John Cartwright of Rowley Regis who leaves a will of 1587. Continue reading →
11
Jun
2018
Ambrose Birch of Rowley Regis
Ambrose Birch was buried on 17 Feb 1729/30 in Rowley Regis and left a will, probate 20 Jul 1730. He was the father of Catherine Darby, the great grandmother of Emma Clifton. Continue reading →
11
May
2018
Adam Read, Barber Surgeon of Dudley
Adam Read was a Barber Surgeon in Dudley, who lived from approximately 1658 to 1717. He left a will dated 20 Jan 1716/17, which clarifies a number of points about his life Continue reading →
30
Mar
2018
John Astley of Bushbury
John Astley of Bushbury died and left a will written on 6 May 1679. It is clear from this will that he is the John Astley who signs William Dugdale’s Visitation on 27 Apr 1664 as head of the Astley family of Wood Eaton in mid Staffordshire. His age in 1664 is given as 70. Continue reading →
12
Feb
2018
Richard Shaw of Pinfolds
Richard Shaw of Pinfolds is a significant but very hard member of the Shaw family of 16th century Dudley to pin down, as his life parallels that of his putative first cousin Richard Shaw of Netherton. Continue reading →
27
Dec
2017
Thomas Whitehouse
Thomas Whitehouse, Yeoman of Coseley in the Parish of Sedgley left a will, probate 13 Feb of 1710/11. Continue reading →