Humphrey Stafford, Knt., of Grafton

Biography
Retrieved from https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stafford-180 and then edited.

Humphrey Stafford was born about 1400, the younger son of Sir Humphrey Stafford of Grafton, Worcestershire[4] (b. c. 1384 - d. 20 Feb 1419) and his wife Elizabeth Burdett (d. bef. 1419), d. & h. of Sir John Burdet of Huncote, Leicestershire.[4]

He was heir to his older brother, John Stafford in 1422 (d. 1422), who was still in his minority when their father died.[1][2]

Career

He was Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire, 1430-31 and 1438-39. He was Knight of the Shire (Member of Parliament) for Worcestershire, and Staffordshire.[1][2][8] He sat for Worcestershire in 1423 and 1426, for Staffordshire in 1427 and for Worcestershire again in 1447 and 1449.[4]

Humphrey possessed lands in Grafton, Broomsgrove, and Kenswick in Worcestershire, and Chebsey in Staffordshire, and Bourton-on-Dunsmore, Grandborough, Learnington, Hastings in Warwickshire, etc.[1][2]

Jack Cade, Rebellion & Death

Sir Humphrey Stafford was with the small force sent to suppress Jack Cade's rebellion in Kent, and was defeated and killed in an action near Sevenoaks, Kent,[4] on 7 June 1450.[1][2]

Jack Cade was the leader of rebels against Henry VI’s weak and incompetent government, who in spring 1450 issued The Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent. The rebels complained bitterly of the government’s financial exactions, corrupt officials and the idea that the king was above the law. They also bemoaned the loss of France, which had severely damaged Kent’s foreign trade. In the first week of June some 20,000 rebels appeared in arms at Blackheath. Most were peasants.[9]A force was sent to reduce him under Sir Humphrey Stafford.[10] The Stafford brothers, Sir Humphrey and William were ambushed with forty men at Sevenoaks, and all were killed.[11]

Family

Humphrey married Eleanor AYLESBURY, daughter of Sir Thomas AYLESBURY and Katherine PABENHAM, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England 9651. (Eleanor AYLESBURY was born in 1406-1407 in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.). Their marriage license is dated 02 January 1424.

Eleanor's father, Thomas, was born about 1369. He was son and heir by his father's first marriage. He was of Milton Keynes and Drayton Beauchamp, in Buckinghamshire, Pytchley, in Northamptonshire, Aldbury, Tiscot, and Wilstone, in Hertfordshire. He was knight of the shire for Buckinghamshire. He was Sheriff of Bedfordshire & Buckinghamshire and died 9 Sep 1418.[1][2]

Eleanor's mother, Katherine Pabenham, was the daughter of Laurence de Pabenham, Knt. and Elizabeth d'Engaine, and the widow of William Cheyney, Knt.[3]She was born about 1372, and died 17 Jun 1436.[1][2]

Children

Eleanor and Humphrey had eight children together, five sons and three daughters.

Stafford of Grafton Problems Jan 19, 2004 < soc.gen.medieval >

The issue of Sir Humphrey Stafford and wife Eleanor Aylesbury, based upon Nash and Wedgwood, was:

1. Richard Stafford, eldest son, who was slain by the Harcourts in June 1448.
2. Humphrey Stafford (1426/7-1486), who succeeded his father in Grafton and his mother to Blatherwyck, Northamptonshire. When attainted and executed in 1486, the Staffords lost Grafton, but his descendants continued to reside at Blatherwyck. He married Katherine Fray.
3. Thomas Stafford. He was attainted with his brother, and his descendants held Tottenho, Buckinghamshire.
4. Elizabeth Stafford, who married by license of 27 Jan 1446/7, Richard Beauchamp, of Powick (1435-1503). [CP, vol. 2, p. 47]
5. Anne Stafford, who married (1st) Thomas Skull of Wigginton, Oxfordshire (died before 1459) and (2nd) William Berkeley, K.B.,of Weoley (in Northfield), Worcestershire (died 1501). By her first,marriage, Anne evidently had no issue. By her second marriage, she had two children, Richard, Esq., and Anne (wife of John Gyse, Knt., and William Kingston).
6. Joyce Stafford, wife of Sir Marmaduke Constable (1443-1518).

Wikitree additionally shows:

1. Ralph Stafford.[1][2]
2. John Stafford.[1][2]

Other issue
Humphrey Stafford had two illegitimate children by an unknown mistress,

1. William
2. Jane who married Guy Wyrley.[1][2][6][7]

Legacy

He was buried at St. John's The Baptist Church in Bromsgrove.[4]

Eleanor Aylesbury Stafford survived her husband.

Eleanor and her sister Isabel Chaworth were co-heirs to their cousin John Cressy, Knt. and inherited the manors of Dodford in Northamptonshire, and Oxhill in Warwickshire.[1][2]

In 1478, Eleanor presented to the church of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.[1][2]
On 15 June 1481, the King awarded the manor of Dodford, Northamptonshire to dame Eleanor Stafford and her son, Thomas, who were then ordered to pay £200, plus £50 charges to Edward Wydeville, Knt, to satisfy his claim to the said manor.[1][2]

Eleanor died sometime after 15 June 1481.[1][2] Eleanor and her husband have alabaster tomb monuments still displayed in the St. John the Baptist church in Bromsgrove, England.[12]

Notes

Joan Stafford Wyrely. The Visitation of Northampton in 1564 asserts that Joan was a legit daughter of Humphrey & wife. This is in error and was corrected in note in the Visitation of Northampton in 1618/9.[6]

Care should be exercised with this family as this Humphrey has an uncle, Humphrey Stafford, 1st Earl of Devon, and a cousin, named Humphrey as well as his father & own son.

References

1. Foster, J. (1891). "John William Warre Tyndale, Esq. from the blood royale of England," in The Royal Lineage of Our Noble and Gentle Families, p. 879. < GoogleBooks >
2. http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/STAFFORD2.htm#Humphrey STAFFORD of Grafton (Sir Knight)1 (has errors)
3. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stafford-180 cites
   1. Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011), vol. 1, pages 116-119, Basset #09-10, Thomas & Eleanor Aylesbury. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
   2. Douglas Richardson. "Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families", 5 vols., Vol III. ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013). page 239-240, HASTANG 14, Humphrey Stafford. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
   3. Marshall, George William. Ed. Visitations of the County of Nottingham, in the years 1569 and 1614. Published 1871, London. Pages 123-128.Aylesbury Pedigree. < [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044081107872&view=1up&.... Hathitrust] >
   4. Williams, William Retlaw. The parliamentary history of the county of Worcester : including the city of Worcester, and the boroughs of Bewdley, Droitwich, Dudley, Evesham, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove and Pershore, from the earliest times to the present day, 1213-1897, with biographical and genealogical notices of the members. 1897. Hereford, England. Page 29.Humphrey Stafford < [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015012372564&view=1up&.... Hathitrust] >
   5. Tonge, Thomas. Heraldic visitation of the northern counties in 1530. Published 1863 Whittaker & Co. London.Marmaduke Constable pedigree. < [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hx3kz6&view=1up&seq=84. Hathitrust] >
   6. Metcalf, Walter C. Ed. Visitations of Northamptonshire made in 1564 and 1618-19. F.S.A. Published 1887, London. Page 160. < Hathitrust >
   7. Wyrley of Dodford, (Vis. of Northants., 1564). < WikiTree.com > . Pedigree. Wyrley of Dodford, (Vis. of Northants., 1618/9). WikiTree.com >. Pedigree.
   8. Mentioned in the entry for his father - History of Parliament online. The House of Commons 1422–1461. Part of The History of Parliament. Editor: Linda Clark, History of Parliament Trust. Published: April 2020. Humphrey Stafford MP < link >
   9. Cavendish, Richard. The Killing of Jack Cade. Published in History Today, Vol. 50, 7 July 2000. < link >
   10. Noorthouck, John, 'Book 1, Ch. 6: Cade's Rebellion to Henry VII', in A New History of London Including Westminster and Southwark (London, 1773), pp. 94-106. [British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/new-history-london/pp94-106 [accessed 24 May 2021]].
   11. Grant-Duff, Justin. Jack Cade and his rebellion of Kentish Men in the reign of Henry VI, 1450.[3]
   12. St. John the Baptist Church in Bromsgrove, England.[4]
4. Foster, Joseph. Pedigrees of the county families of Yorkshire. 1874. Vol 3. Pg. 95-6. Archive.org. [5]
   1. Dugdale, William, Sir. Dugdale’s Visitation of Yorkshire, with additions. 1899. Vol 2. Pg. 289. Archive.org. [6]
   2. Flower, William. The visitation of Yorkshire in the years 1563 and 1564. 1881. Vol 16, 18. Pg. 65. Archive.org. [7]
   3. Marshall, George William. The visitations of the county of Nottingham in the years 1569 and 1614. 1871. Vol 4. Pg. 40 and 126. Archive.org. [8] [9]
   4. Glover, Robert. The visitation of Yorkshire, made in the years 1584/5. 1875. Pg. 178, 197 and 507. Archive.org. [10] [11] [12]
   5. Burke, John. A genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain and Ireland. 1835-38. Vol 1. Pg. 328 and 549. Archive.org. [13] [14]
   6. Tonge, Thomas. Heraldic visitation of the northern counties in 1530. 1863. Pg. 68. Archive.org. [15]
   7. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 1893. Vol 12. Pg. 208. Archive.org. [16]
   8. Williams, William Retlaw. The parliamentary history of the county of Worcester. 1897. Pg. 29. Archive.org. [17]
   9. Raine, James. Testamenta eboracensia; or, Wills registered at York. 1865. Vol 5. Pg. 88-93. Archive.org. [18]
   10. Adams, Arthur. The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215. 1955. Pg. 26. babel.hathitrust.org. [19]
   11. Wright, James. The history and antiquities of the County of Rutland. 1684. Pg. 127. babel.hathitrust.org. [20]
   12. Richardson, Douglas: Plantagenet Ancestry, 2nd edn. (2011), 3 vols, Volume 1, page 559, CONSTABLE 13.
   13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey_Stafford_(died_1450)
   14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmaduke_Constable See Also:
   15. Jack Cade's Rebellion at Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Cade%27s_Rebellion
   16. Find A Grave: Memorial #106489128 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106489128
   17. Richardson, D. Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 261, 384-5, 593.
   18. Richardson, D. (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd ed, I: 117-8, 185, 336-7, 528, II: 37, 378, III: 393.
   19. Richardson, D. Plantagenet Ancestry, 2nd ed, I, p. 327-328.
   20. Richardson, D. Royal Ancestry, I: 266, 341, 577, II: 285, 409, 508, III: 237-8, 266, IV: 418.
5. https://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00113894&tree=LEO Cites
   1. [S00123] Angerville, Count d', ~Living descendants of Blood Royal in America . 61 ; death Paul Reed
   2. [S00623] Weis, Frederick Lewis, Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists who came to America bef.1700, 7th Edition, 1992. 60
   3. [S00892] Weis, Frederick Lewis, Magna Charta Sureties, 1215 4th & 5th edition . 72