17th Century

William Turton, Ironmonger of Oxford, died 1643

Placing all the William Turtons of West Bromwich and Rowley Regis in the early seventeenth century is extremely difficult. The various pedigrees stemming from the Heraldic Visitations, give a good picture of the main West Bromwich and Alrewas lines but it is difficult to tie back to surviving parish registers and particularly the recorded marriages. Continue reading →
Last updated on 4 December 2023 by JJ Morgan

Edward Gravenor of the Hollies, died 1654

Edward Gravenor was a great grandson of Clare Colbourne of Dudley. When he died in 1654 his branch of the Gravenor family owned and lived in the Hollies in Enville in Staffordshire. His will is particularly fascinating as he died, aged 62, with no direct descendants. His long will details numerous cousins and relations. Continue reading →
Last updated on 6 August 2023 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 10 March 2023 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 26 December 2022 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 17 August 2022 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 27 March 2020 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 26 January 2020 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 6 December 2019 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 2 August 2019 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 27 February 2020 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 19 April 2022 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 19 October 2023 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 28 March 2019 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 10 May 2019 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 13 November 2018 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 5 June 2018 by JJ Morgan

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 →
Last updated on 12 April 2018 by JJ Morgan