1616/17 Robart Stokes signed the transcript of the parish register of Wycomb and Chadwick, Leicestershire, for 1616, which was sent to the bishop. [1]
Anno Dni 1616
A true copy or the regester of all christenings weddings &c. at Cawdwell in ye yeare abovewritten viz. 1616.
…
Read examined & approved by
Tho: Chadwicke curate;
Christopher Smythe
Robart Stokes
1617 "Henrye the sonne of Robert Stookes and Grace his wife was baptized November the firste" at Wycombe and Chadwell, Leicestershire. [2]
1623/24 Robart Stokes signed the 1623 bishop's transcript of the parish register of Wycombe and Chadwell as churchwarden with Isaack Watchorne, "Gardiam de Cawdwell et Wickham." [3]
1630 "The freeholders in Caldwell and Wickham, in 1630, were Christopher Smith and Robert Stokes." [4] [5]
1639 Grace Stoakes, wife of Robert, died. [6]
"2 of October was buryed Grace Stoakes the wife of Robert Stoakes" in Wycombe and Chadwell, Leicestershire.
Research Notes:
1587 George Stokes, husbandman of Wycomb, wrote his will on December 2. The will was proved on February 6, 1587/88 in Leicester. The will names son Robert Stokes. [7]
Testamentum Georgij Stokes de wycombe
The will of god Almightie, the father the sonn & the holie ghoste three different persons & But one god onely be done vpon me nowe & ever Amen, I George Stokes of Wycombe in the countie of Leic husbandman, beinge by the permission of Almightie god at this present sicke in bodie, but of good & perfect Remembrance this second daie of Dec' in the yeare of thincarnation of Christ 1587 and in the xxxth yeare of the reigne of our most gracious & Soverainge ladie Elizabethe by the grace of god Queene of England Fraunce and Ireland Defender of the faithe &c. do ordeine and make this my present testament concerninge my last will in maner & forme herafter followinge, First as charitie menethe me to begine at my selfe ___ so wthall my hartt & power I will bequethe & commend my soule & bodie to Jesus xtx owre lord the onelie savior & Redeemer of me & all man kynd, ... I will and do therfor Reserve, the order & execution of my funerall And the buriall of my bodie, to the Discretions, of my executors & overseers, herafter appointed in this my will, the samte(?) done, as the tyme & place shall Require Thirdlie my whole indever for the Resyene(?) of this my will shalbe so to dispose, those worldly goods whiche god of his goodnes hathe giuen me, as I may showe my selfe thankfull towards him wch ys the giuer of all and Cerefull of my familie & suants wch he hathe committed to my Chardge & Commited me to prouyde for, and to be myndefull of my kinffolkes & frends whiche my affection & love towards them sufferethe me not to forgett, Fourthelie, I by thies presents Reuoke all other wills and testaments by me hertofore demysed or made and do declare & publishe that my laste will & testament ys conteind in thies present onely & in none other, Also I give vnto the poore mens boxe of Wycombe xijd And to the mendinge of the highewaies ther xijd Itm I will tt my sonn Roberte Stokes & his heires forever (where he or they shall dwell) yerly bestowe amongste the poor people one stryke of wheat, to be baked into bread. Item I giue & bequeath to my daughter Jeinkine one ewe & a lambe also to ever one of my god children iiijd Also to George Bingham of Melton a Lambe hogge Also to the Curat of Cawdwell & Wycombe in consideration of my forgotten tythings xijd Also that my executors do keep my mother Duringe her lyfe tyme with good & honeste provisyon of meat & Drynke & other necessaryes accordinge to her ____ & by the Discretion of my overseers, Also I will that all my goods & chattels be praysed & devyded into iiij parts whereof my wife Margaret, shall have one parte, and my children wch are vnmarryed iij parts, equally amongste them to be devided And I will tt my wiefe & my sonn Roberte shall have for education of my said Children with ther porcons untill they shall accomplyshe ther several full ages of xxj yeares, And yf my said wyfe do fortune to marrye againe then I will my said sonn Roberte, shall keep the said children wth ther procons vntill ther said full ages and yf any of the said children do die, before those ages the parte of him or them so dyinge shall Remane to and amongste the surviror & survivors of them and ever' of them Md that my intent & will ys that my daughters shall have ther porcons, aswell at ther severall daies of maryage as at ther full ages whiche firste shall happen, Also I constitute ordeine & make my welbeloved wyfe & my sonn Roberte Stokes executors of this my last will & testament and such my seers of the same I do appoynt and Desire my wellbeloued brother in lawe William Blacke and my sonn in law William Kinge, and in Remembrance of their paines I do giue to eyther of them xijd Theis being witnesses William Nichols Edmonde Blosse Hughe Orson Edmund Nordie(?) Clarke William Bryan George Bingham
Addicon to the will
Md that the great Table in the hall was giuen to my sonn Roberte by William Kynge my sonn in lawe. Itm the great spitt was giuen to him by my mother Also I do giue him my great Ewe Bowe, and my sheafe of Arrowes more I do giue him my bugle horne tt ys typed wth siluer Itm the great forme in the hall Itm the great Saltinge troughe Itm my halberd & all my bookes Also I will that my sonn George shall have my lesser ewe bowe.
NBryan
Probatum apud Leic sexto die mensis Febr Ao Dni 1587 …
1589 Robert Stoakes of Wyckham was named in a feoffment. [8]
Feoffment.
(i) Bartholomew Watchorne of Wickham, co. Leicester, husbandman and John Wathorne of Goadby, husbandman.
(ii) William Kytchen and of Wickham, yeomen.
Robert Stoakes of Wickham, yeomen.
(i) to (ii) a messuage, croft, house, stables etc. in Wickham; another messuage, house etc. with appurtenances in Caldewell. To the use of Helen Watchorne the wife of (i), 1/3 if she marries again and 2/3 to her son Edward, then Isaac her next son etc.
1659 George Stokes, yeoman of Wickham, wrote his will on July 27. The will was proved on October 3, 1662, in Leicester. [9]
In the name of God Amen July the 27th: 1659 I George Stokes of Wickham in the County of Leicester yeoman being weake of Bodie but (thankes be to God) of perfect memory doe make this my last will & testament in manner & forme following.
First I bequeath my soule into the hands of Almighty God that gave it & my bodie to be buried by the discrecon of my Executor, And for my worldly goods I dispose of them in this manner: that is to say
To my eldest son George Stokes I give & bequeath all my Lands in Wickham Caldwell & Wartnaby to him & his heires for ever
To my daughter Elizabeth Smith the sume of four pounds & one Cupboard in the parlour to be paid within one yeare after my decease
To my daughter Margaret Hackett one red hiefer
To my sons Henry & Edward I bequeath five & twenty pounds a piece to be paid them when they shall accomplish the age of one & twenty yeares
To my four smallest Children Anne, Mary, John, & Thomas the sume o thirty pounds a peice to be paid them when they shall accomplish the ages of one & twenty yeares & my will is that if any of my said six last menconed Children depart this life before they shall accomplish that age the survivors shall have their porcons equally divided amongst them.
I give to my son & daughter in Law Richard Beaver & Rachell Bright then shillings a peice to be paid them within three moneths after my decease.
I give to my Brothers Robert Stokes Henry Stokes Thomas Wright & sister Alice Watchhorne five shillings a peice to be paid them within three months after my decease
Lastly I bequeath all my worldly goods vnbequeathed to my oldest son George Stokes whom I doe appoint executor of this my last will & testamt & doe revoke all former wills by me made. In witnesse wherof i have hereunto set my hand & seale the day & yeare above written.
George Stokes
Sealed and delivered in the presence of Us
Thomas wright
Richard Beaver
Probatum … tertio die octobris 1662 …
Research Notes:
Possible siblings:
1671 Anne Stokes aged about 50 yeares (serv[an]t to Edw[ar]d Hutchinson Hosydor within Aldgate) deceased ye 12th day of ye 2nd mon 1671 of a dropsie; as serchers of Cudd Church (socalled) reported, and was interred in the Burying Ground in chequer Alley. [10]
1700 Thomas Stokes of the parish of Olaves Southwark, aged about 76 years, dyed the 15th day 6 mo called August, of age, as the common searchers report." [11]
A bible of a descendant of Joshua Stokes and Amy Hinchman names Alice as the wife of Robert Stokes.
1610 The intestate will of John Stokes of St Dunstan London dated May 10, 1610 names wife Magdalen and perhaps sons John and Robert (a candidate for this Robert). The will is written in Latin and is hard to read. I would welcome help deciphering it.
Joseph Stokes reported the following about John Stokes of Wentworth Street [12]:
… John Stokes, born in Great Dunmow in 1606. He lived in London and was known as 'John Stokes of Wentworth St.' He was the father of 'Thomas the Settler.' At this point in the family history it is closely connected with that of Roger Williams, founder of the Providence Colony in Rhode Island. Roger Williams lived for a year in a parish adjoining Aythorpe-Roding, married a Barnard, and must have become well acquainted with 'John of Wentworth St.' for he made him, for a time at least, his agent. Curiously, Roger Williams' grandmother was a Katherine Stokes, but she lived in Hertfordshire, not Essex, and no connection with the Essex Stokes' has been shown.
A Stokes family of Melton might be related:
"As parcels of the soke of Rothley. the manors of Caldwell and Wykeham are now the property of Thomas Babington, Esq.; but the duke of Rutland have the impropriation; and Mr. Stokes of Melton has the chief property there." [13]
"Mr. Henry Stokes, schoolmaster of Melton, was elected Feb. 1, 1649, schoolmaster of Grantham, where Sir Isaac Newton was one of his pupils." … "Dec. 8, 1663, Mr. Henry Stokes voluntarily resigned Grantham School, and returned to Melton School, Salary £.40." [14]
[1] Church of England, Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, Bishop's transcripts for Wycomb and Chadwell, [FindMyPastImage].
[2] Church of England, Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, Bishop's transcripts for Wycomb and Chadwell, [FindMyPastImage].
[3] Church of England, Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, Bishop's transcripts for Wycomb and Chadwell Burials, [FindMyPastImage].
[4] John Nichols, The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, the Town of Leicester Vol. 1, Part 1 (London, 1795), xcv, [HathiTrust].
[5] John Nichols, The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, The Hundred of West Goscote Vol. 3, Part 2 (London: 1804, S.R. Publishers, Limited, 1971), 966, bottom left, [HathiTrust].
[6] Church of England, Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, Bishop's transcripts for Wycomb and Chadwell Burials, [FindMyPastImage].
[7] Leicestershire Wills And Probate Records, 1500-1939, Leicester Wills, 1587, Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, [FindMyPastImage], [FindMyPastRecord].
[8] Record Office for Leicestershire, [URL].
[9] Leicestershire Wills And Probate Records, 1500-1939, Leicester Wills, 1587, Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, [FindMyPastImage], [FindMyPastRecord].
[10] England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837, Piece 0498, RG 6, Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex, England, Births (1646-1708), [AncestryRecord], [AncestryImage].
[11] England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837, Piece 0331: Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex: Burials (1699-1723), [AncestryRecord], [AncestryImage].
[12] Joseph Stokes, Notes on my Ancestry (1937), 7-8, [FHLBook], [GoogleBooks].
[13] John Nichols, The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, The Hundred of West Goscote Vol. 3, Part 2 (London: 1804, S.R. Publishers, Limited, 1971), 966, bottom right, [HathiTrust].
[14] John Nichols, The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, The Hundred of Framland Vol. 2, Part 1 (London, 1795), 258, [HathiTrust].