Category Archives: Rous

Rous of Topsham

The origins of William Rous, Apothecary and Citizen of London are by no means easy to discern.

His desire to be buried near the vault under the tomb of Sir John Frederick (whose wife was Mary Rous) sent me on a search mission that led through Huguenot families but was ultimately fruitless.

I had wondered whether a reference to his father being Thomas Rous “of Topsham” was born more out of a desire to find a connection rather than as a genealogical fact.

I looked out the apprentice records at the Society of Apothecaries and found the following:

Apothecary1

William Rous (211 211 211 21), Apothecary, was apprenticed to Alderman John Lorrimer (also Lorymer, Lorrymer and Lorimer)[2] on 9th April 1657 for nine years (see below) and became free in 1664 (two years earlier than the indenture provided) and became Junior/Senior Warden of Apothecaries in 1702 and Master of the Society of Apothecaries in 1705.

From the marriage licence of his first marriage to Anne Regnier we see he was born circa 1640 – entry in the Marriage Allegations in the Registry of the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury as follows:

July 3rd 1669William Rous of St. Olave’s Old Jury London, Cit. & Apothecary, Bachelor abt 29 & Anne Regnier of St. Leonard’s Shoreditch Middx. Spr abt 20 with consent of her father; at St. Bartholomew the Great or St. Botolph Aldersgate, Lond. or St Mary Newington or Clerkenwell Middx.

On 5th July 1669 (as shown below) at St Bartholemew the Great in London William Rous married Ann Regnier

Apothecary3

Extract from the Parish Register of St Bartholemew the Great held at the Metropolitan Archives, London, accessed via www.ancestry.co.uk

William married second, by licence from the Vicar-General (dated 1679/80)[1] to Susanna WYNCH (211 211 211 12), the widow of Robert Wynch of London, haberdasher, on 24th February 1679/80 at St Bartholemew the Great, London:

23rd February 1679-80: William Rous of St Olave Old Jury, London (aged about 39) licence to marry Susanna Wynch of St Giles, Cripplegate, London (aged about 34) at St Bartholemew the Great or Less, or St Sepulchre, London). (Marriage Allegations in the Registry of the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury)

His subsequent marriage to Susannah Wynch (widow), therefore, puts him at aged about 39 on 23rd February 1679-80.

The combined dates from his Marriage Licences suggest that William may have been born between 6th July 1639 and 22nd February 1639/40.

This does not match any entry in the Trees excellently deduced in his book by Professor John C. Street (A Genealogy of the Rouses of Devon; Madison, Wisconsin, 2002).

Three further interesting coincidences, however, seem to give credence to the concept that William was an unrecorded youngest son of Thomas Rous of Topsham:

  1. William’s mother would have been Hester Martyn – he then giving his surviving daughter the name Hester;
  2.  Luke Justice, son of Luke Justice of Knighton, Staffs, gent. was apprenticed to William Rouse on Jul 3 1677; and
  3. John Rouse, son of Robert Rouse of Farringdon, Devon, gent. was apprenticed to William Rouse on May 6 1690;

Luke Justice, Apothecary of London, married Catherine Rous (Thomas’s granddaughter) and John Rous, apothecary of Topsham and Farringdon, was Thomas’s grandson.

It seems appropriate, therefore, in the absence of firm evidence of lineage, to consider in greater detail the Rous family from Professor Street’s gleanings.

First of all, here is an outline of the Family descent from the thirteenth Century in Cornwall (to see the various branches and detailed genealogy, it is necessary to search out a copy of the book (I read it at the Society of Genealogists in London) – to this (in red) I have annotated information deduced from www.stirnet.com:

1. Ralph LE RUFUS (211 211 211 211 111 111 111 111 11) of “Little Modbury” (alive between 1234-1250) (26 generations back from our daughter)
possibly married daughter of Asceline de Yvery ;

2. William LE ROUS (211 211 211 211 111 111 111 111 1) Sheriff of Devonshire (living 1175!?)

3. Ralph LE ROUS (211 211 211 211 111 111 111 111) of “Little Modbury” died circa 1290,
..and his wife Alice (211 211 211 211 111 111 111 112)

4. John LE ROUS (211 211 211 211 111 111 111 11) 
…note there is some doubt as to whether this was a separate generation
;

5. William LE ROUS kt (211 211 211 211 111 111 111 1) of “Little Modbury” (living 1291-1309)
and his wife Joan SPECCOT
(211 211 211 211 111 111 111 2), daughter of Richard SPECCOT kt 
(211 211 211 211 111 111 111 21) of “Speccot” at Merton, Devon by his wife Matilda de BELSTON (211 211 211 211 111 111 111 22), herself the daughter of Baldwin de BELSTON (211 211 211 211 111 111 111 221) who died circa 1240 and his wife Agnes
(211 211 211 211 111 111 111 222);

6. Ralph LE ROUS (211 211 211 211 111 111 111) and his wife Joan GODNESFORD (211 211 211 211 111 111 112), daughter of Robert GODNESFORD
(211 211 211 211 111 111 112 1)

7. Robert LE ROUS kt
(211 211 211 211 111 111 11) Governor of Cherbourg (living 1376), [Knight Banneret under the Black Prince]

8. William LE ROUS (211 211 211 211 111 111 1) who, probably in 1376, married Alice EDMERSTON (211 211 211 211 111 111 2), the daughter and heiress of Thomas EDMERSTON (211 211 211 211 111 111 21) and Rosa AUNTE daughter of William AUNTE 

9. William ROUS (211 211 211 211 111 111) of “Edmerston”  the son of William LE ROUS (211 211 211 211 111 111 1) married Margery LOWER (211 211 211 211 111 112), daughter of William LOWER
(211 211 211 211 111 112 1) of Cornwall

10. John ROUS (211 211 211 211 111 11) who married before 1464 to Isabel WORTH (or possibly DREWE) (211 211 211 211 111 111 12)

11. William ROUS (211 211 211 211 111 1) of “Edmerston” born before 1450 who married Sybil FOWELL (211 211 211 211 111 2), daughter of William FOWELL (211 211 211 211 111 21) and Eleanor of Fowlescombe at Ugborough

12. Roger ROUS (211 211 211 211 111) of “Edmerston” (living 1515-1544) who married Juliana HILL (211 211 211 211 112), daughter of William HILL (211 211 211 211 112 1) and Mabel of “Penguit” and “Fleet”

13. Richard ROUS (211 211 211 211 11) of Rogate, Sussex (1516-1587) who married Eleanor MERVYN (211 211 211 211 12), daughter of Sir Edmund MERVYN (211 211 211 211 121) of Fonthill Gifford, Wilts and his wife Eleanor WELLS
(211 211 211 211 122)

14. Edmund ROUS (211 211 211 211 1) of Rogate, Sussex died 1633; he marrried at Rogate Jan 18 1572/3 to Jane LEGG of Chalton, Hants who died 1632

15. Thomas ROUS (211 211 211 211), eventually ‘of Topsham’ (1589-1657) who married Hester MARTYN (211 211 211 212), daughter of Robert MARTYN (211 211 211 212 1) of Burford, Oxford

16. William ROUS, Apothecary and Citizen of London (211 211 211 21)

And so, taking the most recent two generations:

Apothecary25-HesterRous

1. THOMAS ROUS (1589-1657)  (211 211 211 211) Gentleman, “eventually of Topsham”, was baptised at Rogate, Sussex July 28 1589 and buried at Topsham Feb 2 1657/8, and married HESTER MARTYN  (d. 1670) 
(211 211 211 212), the daughter of ROBERT MARTYN of ‘Upton’, Burford, Oxfordshire; she was buried at St Saviour Denmark Park, Southwark on 10th October 1670.

They had issue:

a. Anthony Rous (d. 1663), Gentleman, was buried at st Saviour Denmark Park, Southwark on May 8 1663, “Attorney in the Quire”; he married Lettice Warcupp, the daughter of Samuel Warcupp (probably of London); they had issue:

i) Robert Rous who was christened October 14 1654 at St Saviour Denmark Park, Southwark

b. Robert Rous (d. 1691) Attorney of Farringdon, Devon; he married Katherine Bartholemew (d. 1700), the daughter of Reverend Wiliam Bartholemew and his wife, Catherine Harvey; they had issue:

Apothecary24-KatherineJustice

i) Catherine Rous (1665-1686) was buried on April 4 1686 at St Olave Old Jewry, London; she married by licence dated May 19 1685 (she was a spinster aged 20, marrying with the consent of her father, Robert Rous of Exon, Co. Devon, Attorney, and he was a bachelor aged 23) to Luke Justice (1659-1686/7), Apothecary of London (having been apprenticed on Jul 3 1677 to William Rous), son of Luke Justice of Adbaston, Knighton, Staffordshire, gent, and his wife Mary. Luke was buried on January 25 1686/7 at St Olave Old Jewry, having made a will on January 17 1686/7 in which he refers to his uncle William Rous, Citizen and Apothecary of London and William’s wife Susanna Rous, his cousins Hester Rous and John Wynch; he also refers to another uncle Thomas Rous of Hatton Garden, London, Gentleman and his wife Elizabeth Rous among others – his will was proved October 16 1690:

Apothecary23-LukeJustice

they had issue:

A. Hester Justice

ii) Elizabeth Rous (1667- ) who married Richard Beavis and had issue;

iii) William Rous (1668-1742) Attorney of Exeter and Farringdon

iv) Anthony Rous apprenticed for seven years on October 28 1685 to John Daston, Citizen and Musician of London, (living in 1698);

v) Thomas Rous who had issue;

vi) Mary Rous

vii) Robert Rous (1673-1742) of Offwell, Devon, who married Elizabeth Satt who died before 1741.

viii) John Rous (1675-1763) Apothecary of Topsham and Farringdon (Apprentice on May 6, 1690 to William Rous); he married Judith Bishop (died 1745) and they had issue;

ix) Bartholemew Rous (died 1682)

x) Joseph Rous (died 1751)

xi) Hester Rous (1679- ) who married (1708) William Tross of Farringdon (1678- ); they had issue;

xii) Richard Rous (1681-1760) of Farringdon

xiii) Bartholemew Rous (1683-1749)

xiv) Martha Rous (1689- )

c. Lawrence Rous (1628- )

d. John Rous (1629- )

e. Hester Rous (1630- ); she married (1658) Thomas Skinnet

f. Edmund Rous (1631- )

g. Rebecca Rous (1633- )

h. Frances Rous who married (1657) Thomas Boomer; she is referred to as ‘My Aunt Mrs Frances Boomer’ by Luke Justice in his will (see above);

i. Thomas Rous (1635- ) who married Elizabeth and they had issue, a daughter, Elizabeth mentioned in Luke Justice’s will

j. Anne Rous (1637- )

k. WILLIAM ROUS (c1639-1719) Citizen and Apothecary of London 
(211 211 211 21)

The clear link between Luke Justice and William Rous and the family of Thomas Rous of Topsham seem to indicate that William Rous, Citizen and Apothecary of London, is indeed, therefore, an undocumented son of Thomas Rous “eventually of Topsham”. 

[catlist name=”rous” orderby=title numberposts=5000 order=asc]

William Rous – Will

William Rous (will dated 8/10/1718)

In the name of God Amen.  I William Rous Citizen and Apothecary of London out of a serious consideration of the uncertainty of the time of my decease do make this my last Will and Testament in manner following (that is to say) first and principally I commend my immortal soul into the hands and protection of Almighty God hoping and assuredly believing through the alone meritts death and passion of my blessed Saviour Jesus Christ to obtain free pardon and forgiveness of all my sins and to inherit everlasting life and as to my body I comitt to the earth to be decently buried as herein after is mentioned And as  touching the disposal of such Worldly Estate as it pleased Almighty God to bestow upon me I dispose of the same in manner following(that is to say) Imprimis my will and mind is that all and every my just debts and funeral expenses be fully paid and satisfyed as soon as may be after my decease. Item I give devise and bequeath unto my Son in Law Robert Pead and Hester Pead his Wife one Moiety or half part of my personal Estate the whole into two equall parts to be divided according to the Custom of the City of London. Item I give devise and bequeath the other Moiety or half part of my personal Estate unto my three Grandsons John Wynch Robert Wynch and William Wynch to be equally divided between them share and share alike But if my said Grandson John Wynch do not relinquish and release all his right and Title to my said real estate as claiming under his father John Wynch deceased or otherwise that then I give and bequeath the shares of my said personal and real estate (hereinbefore devised unto him) unto my Grandsons Robert Wynch and William Wynch  to be equally divided between them share and share alike. Item my will and desire is that my body be interred near the Vault belonging to the family of Sir John Frederick [1] under the Monument of Sir Nathaniel Herne deceased on the South side of the Parish Church of St Olave Old Jury London and I do order and allow the sum of fifty pounds or less for to pay and defray my funeral charges; And I do hereby nominate and appoint my Grandchildren Hester Wynch John Wynch and Robert Wynch Executrix and Executors of this my last Will and Testament hereby revoking and making void all other Will or Wills by me at any time heretofore made published or declared and hereby declaring these presents to be my only last Will and testament; In Witness whereof I have hereunto sett my hand and seal this eighth day of October in the fifth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George by the grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith & Anno Dom 1718. Wm Rous – Signed sealed published declared and delivered by the said William Rous as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us and by us subscribed as Witnesses thereto in the presence of the said Testator – Thos Reddell Peter Hays Mary Rous Mary Tramillion

Probate 27/1/1719

Probatum – in Latin

…London dicesimo Septimo die Mensis January anno domini millesimo septuigentesimo decimo nono [27/1/1719] in the presence of Hester Wynch and Robert Wynch

The inventory from the will is shown here:
prob3-19-18_WilliamRous_inventory
The will was contested by Hester Pead (née Rous, formerly Wynch) against her grandsons John Wynch & Robert Wynch:


[1] It seems Sir John Frederick 1st bt. Married (1637) Mary Rous, the daughter of Thomas Rous of St Olave Jewry

 

Comments or questions are welcome.

* indicates required field

William Rous – Apothecary

William Rous, Citizen and Apothecary of London

The evidence of Penny and the wills of William Rous, Apothecary and Citizen of London and Hester Wynch, spinster of London (qv) suggest that Alexander Wynch (211 211 21) was Hester Wynch’s nephew, and that Hester Wynch was herself the granddaughter of William Rous, apothecary; These wills also, therefore, tell us that Alexander’s father was John Wynch (211 211 211) (who died before 29th September 1744 when Hester Wynch’s will was written) and that Alexander was the grandson of John Wynch (211 211 211 1) (who had died before 8th October 1718 when William Rous’s will was written).  There is compelling evidence in further wills and marriage licences that John Wynch (211 211 211 1) married William Rous’s daughter Hester Rous and died before 1711 when Hester Rous remarried (see later below).

So:

William Rous (211 211 211 21) (will dated 8 Oct 1718) had issue:

.     Hester Rous (211 211 211 2) who married
.     sp. John Wynch (211 211 211 1) (who died before 1711) and had issue:

.           Hester Wynch (will dated 29 Sept 1744)

.           John Wynch (211 211 211) (died before 29 Sep 1744) who had issue:

.                   ALEXANDER WYNCH (211 211 21), Governor of Madras

Further research (from Boyd’s Inhabitants of London, for example) would suggest that Alexander’s great-grandfather, William Rous, was born in 1640[1] the son of Thomas Rous of Topsham, Devon.

William Rous (211 211 211 21), Apothecary, was apprenticed to Alderman John Lorrimer (also Lorymer, Lorrymer and Lorimer)[2] on 9th April 1657 for nine years (see below) and became free in 1664 (two years earlier than the indenture provided) and became Junior/Senior Warden of Apothecaries in 1702 and Master of the Society of Apothecaries in 1705.

Apothecary1Society of Apothecaries Court Minutes 1651 – 1680 (courtesy of the Archivist at the Society of Apothecaries in London)

Apprenticeship at the age of fifteen or sixteen agrees with the Boyd but Patrick Wallis: London Apprentices Volume 32 Apothecaries’ Company 1617 – 1669 seems to confuse John and George Lorimer or Larrymer and cites William’s father as William Rous of Topsham.

  • William Hodgkinson, son of Thomas Hodgkinson of Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorks, gent. was apprenticed to William Rouse on Aug 6 1672.
  • Luke Justice, son of Luke Justice of Knighton, Staffs, gent. was apprenticed to William Rouse on Jul 3 1677
  • Charles Summer, son of Henry Summer of Dinton, Bucks, gent. was apprenticed to William Rouse on Dec 7 1680
  • Arthur Edgley, son of Samuel Edgley of Acton, Cheshire, clerk, was apprenticed to William Rouse on Feb 7 1681/2
  • John Rouse, son of Robert Rouse of Farringdon, Devon, gent. was apprenticed to William Rouse on May 6 1690
  • Robert West, son of John West of Horton, Bucks, papermaker, was apprenticed to William Rouse on Apr 4 1699
  • Henry Bushell, son of William Bushell of St Margaret Westminster, Middx, yeoman, was apprenticed to William Rous on Jun 5 1711.

In 1666, the Hearth Tax records show a William Rowse (with six hearths) living at Windmill Corte in St Olave Old Jewry.

There is an entry in the Marriage Allegations in the Registry of the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury as follows:

July 3rd 1669: William Rous of St. Olave’s Old Jury London, Cit. & Apothecary, Bachelor abt 29 & Anne Regnier of St. Leonard’s Shoreditch Middx. Spr abt 20 with consent of her father; at St. Bartholomew the Great or St. Botolph Aldersgate, Lond. or St Mary Newington or Clerkenwell Middx.

Apothecary2Allegations for marriage Licences issued by the Vicar General of the Archbishop of Canterbury

On 5th July 1669 (as shown below) at St Bartholemew the Great in London William Rous married Ann Regnier (according to Boyd’s Inhabitants of London, the daughter of Mathew Regnier of St Leonard Shoreditch, Merchant).

Apothecary3Extract from the Parish Register of St Bartholemew the Great held at the Metropolitan Archives, London, accessed via www.ancestry.co.uk

Anne Regnier (211 211 211 22) was probably not, however, the daughter of Matthew Regnier as Boyd suggested, but rather was the daughter of Henry Regnier of St Leonard, Shoreditch by his wife Elizabeth.

Regnier of Hoxton

The presumption Boyd appears to have made was that the parent s of Anne were Mathew Regnier by his wife Marie Drente (De Rante) who married at the French Church in Threadneedle Street, London on 5th April 1638:

Apothecary4
Public Record Office RG4/4643

Elizabeth Regniere was buried 27th September 1684 at St Leonard, Shoreditch, London: Apothecary5

The will of Elizabeth Regnier of 13th September 1682 (proved 15th January 16845), however, refers to her Son in Law William Rouse and her Granddaughter Hester Rouse); in her will she does not refer to her daughter Anne who had died by then, but she refers to her two other daughters, Elizabeth Coddington and Susanna Abrooke.

In the London Marriage Licences is the following entry:

Coddington, James, of the Inner Temple, gent., bachelor, 25, and Elizabeth Regnieur, spinster, 20, daughter of ___ Regnieur, of Hogsdon, St. Leonard, Shoreditch, Middlesex, merchant, who consents – at St. Mary Magdalen, Old Fish Street, St. Catherine Creechurch, or All Hallows-the-Less, in Thames Street, London. 20 Feb. 16634.”

London Marriage Licences 1521-1869

Henry and Elizabeth’s other daughter, Susanna, married [William] Abrooke.

In the will of Susanna Waad of Dover, widow, of 20th June 1677 (proved 17th October 1677) there is reference to “my sister Regniere of London and her three daughters” and also to her daughter Anne Wright – referred to in Elizabeth’s will as “my cousin Anne Wright”.  This would suggest that Susanna Waad (née Regnier) was Henry Regnier’s sister.  Thomas Waad and Susanna had four children baptised in the Huguenot church in the Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral, namely: Alice (24th January 16467), Susanne (26th November 1648), Henry (22nd June 1651) and Marie (2nd April 1654).

There was some difficulty for Elizabeth Regnier (referred to in her will but also to be found in the Court Rolls of the time).  When Henry died, he had applied for Naturalisation but died before the Bill before Parliament was enacted (see below), and his property was surrendered to King Charles II because Henry was ‘alien-born’, meaning that he was born overseas. Elizabeth appealed to the King and the property in Hoxton.

Apothecary6Letters of Denization and Acts of Naturalization (published by the Huguenot Society of London Volume XVIII

In the Derbyshire Records Office is the following entry:

D5430/59/2/12

Lease for seven years of a messuage with an orchard, two gardens and a stable in Hoggesdon alias Hoxton (Middlesex), with attached schedule of fixtures, Charles Farwell of London, Esq. to Henry Regnier of London, merchant, 25 Sep 1660

In 1666 Henry Reneere was assessed for Hearth Tax (he had 20 hearths!) at Hogsdon Libertie in the Parish of St Leonard Shoreditch.

See Below from Survey of London:

(ii) Hoxton, between Kingsland Road and Hoxton Street.

Among the possessions of Holywell Priory acquired by Sir Thomas Legh was a close called Star Close. On 14th July, 1565, Sir James Blount, Lord Mountjoy, and Dame Katherine his wife, Legh’s heiress, mortgaged (fn. 1) to Robert Browne, citizen and goldsmith of London, a considerable portion of the Legh property, comprising, inter alia, three closes in Hoxton, Shoreditch and Haggerston, respectively. This mortgage was never redeemed. On 20th June, 1579, Thomas, son of Robert Browne, sold (fn. 2) the whole of the property to Thomas Harris. In the Notes of Fines (Midd.) for 33 Elizabeth (Hilary), [1581], is a record of a final concord between William Peake quer: and Thomas Harris def: concerning a messuage, a garden, an orchard and four acres of pasture in Hoxton. The details, however, are not very clear, as the entry is mutilated, and the Feet of Fines for that term are missing. In January, 1596–7, Peake died, leaving (fn. 3) the whole of his property in Middlesex to William Wall, his nephew. On 25th June, 1639, Wall died, and in the inquisition (fn. 4) taken of his property, mention is made of a close of meadow called “Starre close,” containing about 4 acres, (fn. 5) adjoining the messuage and garden called “the Starre.” It is said to be held of the King in chief by knight’s service. There can be little doubt, therefore, that the pasture purchased by Peake was Star Close.

A plan of the close in 1588 (Plate 2) shows that it included the whole of the land south of Augustine Steward’s property, and north of Old Street, except a rectangular plot at the south-east corner. It was then devoid of buildings except in the north-west. (fn. 6)

On 28th May, 1658, William Wall, grandson of the elder William, (fn. 7) sold a portion of the close, one rood in extent, for the site of Walter’s Almshouses, and on 19th October, 1670, disposed of (fn. 8) the greater part (3¾ acres) of the remainder to Allen Badger. This latter portion contained seven houses, and in 1684 the number had risen to fourteen. (fn. 9) Wall’s successors in 1689 sold to Thos. Toller, ten messuages on the eastern frontage of the close, (fn. 10) and Chassereau’s map of 1745 (Plate 1) shows that considerable building had taken place during the preceding half century, though even then a large part lay open. (fn. 11) From a deed (fn. 12) dated 12th November, 1770, the estate is found at that time to comprise 14 messuages in Kingsland Road, including the Red Lion “lately the Crooked Billett,” a parcel of ground “being part of a close formerly called Starr Close,” containing 2¾ acres, and 10 messuages in Hoxton Street.

The Star, from which the close obtained its name, was one of the buildings shown on the plan of 1588 (Plate 2). It is referred to as early as 1501–2 in a plea by John Austen (fn. 13) as to “iiij messuagis wherof one is called the Sterre in Shordyche.” On 6th September, 1502, Austen sold (fn. 14) to Edward Hales three houses: (1) a messuage called Toller house “in which I, the aforesaid John Austen, used lately to dwell,” between the tenement late of William Hungerford east, that late of John Redy west, the land of the prioress of “Halywell” [Star Close] north, and the royal way south; (ii) a messuage called “le Sterre”; (iii) a messuage late called “le Belle,” next to the Star on the north side of it.

In 1541–2 Marcelyn Hales sold to Thos. Armerer the house called The Star, the house to the south of it called “the corner house,” and the house to the north of it called The Bell. Armerer died in 1549–50, leaving (fn. 15) to his wife, “my mansyon house . . . called the Starre,” and to his sister, Maud Howton, the house called The Bell “lyenge on the north syde of my mansyon house called the Sterre, with a garden and an orchard thereto joynynge,” and the house called The Corner House “lyenge on the southe syde of the Sterre afforesayd with the iij chambres over the sayd house . . . also the stayres betwyxte the foresayd corner house and the Sterre afforesayd.”

The corner house is heard of again nearly a century later. On 20th April, 1646, Thomas Hill, of Fulham, demised (fn. 16) to George Cotterell “all that corner messuage or tenement . . . next adjoyning to the inn called the Starr.” (fn. 17) This suggests that the Star was either still standing or had been rebuilt.

From the relative positions of the Bell, the Star and the Corner house, it is probable that their sites corresponded roughly with those of Bull Yard, Red Lion Court and Spread Eagle Court in Chassereau’s Map. The first named is heard of in 1653, (fn. 18) when Euodias Inman and Jane his wife demised to George Cotterell 18 messuages (“ruinous and ready to fall down”) called Bull Yard “thentofore known as the Bull Inn.” In 1681 the premises were sold to William Cowland, (fn. 19) and in 1706 were again “in a ruinous state.” (fn. 20) In 1720 (fn. 21) tenements “formerly belonging to John Cowland” are given as the northern boundary of the Red Lion Court property, which contained 18 messuages or tenements.

The property north of Star Close at the beginning of the 16th century consisted of a messuage with garden, pasture, and orchard. The Register of Augustine Steward, preserved at the British Museum, (fn. 22) contains transcripts of deeds relating to this property as far back as 1501. (fn. 23)

On 13th November in that year, John Burnet and Thomas Pulton released to Katherine Page “a certain messuage and divers buildings with garden, orchard, and close containing three acres and half a rood.” extending on the west from the tenement of John Strete to the close of the nuns of Holywell called “le Starre Close,” for 234 feet 6 inches, and on the east for 284 feet 6 inches. (fn. 24) On 12th May, 1521, Katherine sold the property to John Williams. On 22nd January, 1532–3, Williams disposed of it to Nicholas Serle, from whom it passed to Lawrence Serle, (fn. 25) who died in 1569, leaving his daughter, Lucy Campion, his sole heir. (fn. 26) The property is described as a messuage, toft, barn, garden and orchard which “of old were three roods of land and known by the name of three roods of land,” held of the prebendary of Hoxton, and three acres, containing by estimation two acres, formerly belonging to Katherine Page, and held of the Queen as of the manor or priory of Holywell. (fn. 27) On 20th October, 1576, Lucy Campion leased the premises to John Curwyn, citizen and musician of London, for 21 years, and on 20th February following sold them to Augustine Steward, (fn. 28) whom she married a few months later. Among the records of this property contained in the Steward Register is a particularly interesting one of a survey made in 1588 (Plate 2). (fn. 29)

Steward died on 5th May, 1597, leaving a son, Augustine, aged 12, who, in 1628, sold the property to William Wall. (fn. 30) On the latter’s death (25th June, 1639) he was found in seisin of a messuage, with a toft, garden and orchard, as well as of “all those closes or parcels of land containing two acres,” all said to have been lately purchased of Augustine Steward. (fn. 31) His son Joseph died on 1st August, 1643 (fn. 32) , and the property passed to William Wall the younger, who on 23rd April, 1658, disposed of it to William Moy. It was said to comprise a close or piece of ground, a stable standing at the west end of the close and adjoining the messuage, a barn erected on the other part of the close adjoining south on the garden wall, and a small tenement and garden near Ratcliff Row. On 2nd June, 1659, Moy sold the property, with 200,000 burnt bricks and 160,000 unburnt bricks then on the premises, to Richard Slater, (fn. 33) who, a few weeks later, transferred it to Charles Farewell. (fn. 34) In 1667–8 the premises were purchased (fn. 35) on behalf of Henry Regnier (or Reginer) “an alien born.” After the latter’s death, the premises were forfeited to the Crown, (fn. 36) but the King restored them to the widow Elizabeth. (fn. 37) By will, dated 30th September, 1682, (fn. 38) she left all her property in Hoxton to her daughter Susanna and the latter’s husband, Captain Wm. Abrooke.

Anne Regnier (211 211 211 22) was probably the same ‘Ann dau. of Hen: Reynar merchant’ who was baptised on 21st March 16478 at St Giles Cripplegate, London:

Apothecary7

She married William Rous on 5th July 1669 at St Bartholomew the Great, London (aged about 20 according to the licence):

Apothecary8

Henry Regneire was baptised at St Giles Cripplegate, London on 28th June 1650, son of Henry Regneire, Merchant:

Apothecary9

Rebecka Regnaire was buried 11th September 1654 at St Giles Cripplegate, daughter of Henry Regnaire, Merchant.

Apothecary10

So, we can now show this as follows:

Henry Regnier (211 211 211 221) (died before 1671)
sp. Elizabeth Regnier (211 211 211 222) (will dated 13 Sep 1682) and had issue:

.   Elizabeth Regnier who married on 20 Feb 16634
.   sp. James Coddington

.   Anne Regnier (211 211 211 22) married on 5 Jul 1669
.   sp. William Rous (211 211 211 21) (will dated 8 Oct 1718)  and had issue:

.         Hester Rous (211 211 211 2)
.         sp. John Wynch (211 211 211 1) (who died before 1711) and had issue:

.                  John Wynch (211 211 211) (died before 29 Sep 1744) and had issue:

.                          ALEXANDER WYNCH (211 211 21), Governor of Madras

Anne (Regnier) Rous (211 211 211 22) died after 15th December 1673 (Hester’s birth) and before February 16789 – within nine years of her marriage to William, during which time three of her four children did not survive infancy.

William married second, by licence from the Vicar-General (dated 1679/80)[1] to Susanna WYNCH (211 211 211 12), the widow of Robert Wynch of London, haberdasher, (and mother of John Wynch who married William’s daughter, Hester), on 24th February 1679/80 at St Bartholemew the Great, London:

23rd February 1679-80: William Rous of St Olave Old Jury, London (aged about 39) licence to marry Susanna Wynch of St Giles, Cripplegate, London (aged about 34) at St Bartholemew the Great or Less, or St Sepulchre, London). (Marriage Allegations in the Registry of the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury)

Children of William Rous

And so, whilst this article has not explored further proof of his ancestry (see Rous of Topsham) apart from references provided by the Society of Apothecaries and by Boyd, that William’s father was Thomas Rous of Topsham, Devon. We do know from his marriage licence that William Rous was born around 1640 and that he married Anne Regnier on 5th July 1669.[1]

Apothecary11Register of St Bartholomew the Great, London

William and Anne’s first child, Elizabeth, was born on 7th June 1670, baptised the next day at St Olave Old Jewry, London, and was buried in the same place on 12th September 1670

Apothecary12

Apothecary13Registers of St Olave, Old Jewry, London

William and Anne’s second child, Anne, was born 22nd September 1671, baptised 22nd September 1671 at St Olave Old Jewry, London, and died 29th April 1675

Apothecary14Registers of St Olave, Old Jewry, London

William & Anne’s son, William, was born 3rd November 1672, baptised 3rd November 1672 at St Olave Old Jewry, London, and was buried 5th April 1677

Apothecary15

Apothecary16
Registers of St Olave, Old Jewry, London

The fourth child born to William and Anne was Hester ROUS (211 211 211 2), who was baptised 15th December 1673 at St Olave’s, Old Jury, London.

Apothecary17Registers of St Olave, Old Jewry, London

According to the will of William Rous (211 211 211 21), Hester married[2] Robert PEAD, apothecary.  The marriage record (shown below) shows that Hester was a widow and her previous married name was ‘Winch’.

Apothecary19

 

Her previous deceased husband was her father’s (non-blood-related) step-son John Wynch, the son of Robert Wynch by his wife Susanna Wynch, later the wife of William Rous.

This view is consolidated by the references in William Rous’s will to “my three Grandsons John Wynch Robert Wynch and William Wynch” and to his grandchild Hester Wynch; at the same time he refers to John Wynch’s late father as distinct from calling him his son deceased.

It seems likely, therefore, that Hester Rous married firstly John Wynch (written in the registers as Esther Rous and John Winch, both of the Parish of St Olave’s Jury) on 22nd May 1694 at St Bartholemew the Great, London.

Apothecary20Registers of St Bartholomew the Great, London

William’s first wife, Anne died after 15th December 1673 (Hester’s birth) and before February 16789 – within nine years of her marriage to William, during which time three of her four children did not survive infancy.

William married second, by licence from the Vicar-General (dated 1679/80)[3] to Susanna WYNCH (211 211 211 12), the widow of Robert Wynch of London, haberdasher, (and mother of John Wynch who married William’s daughter, Hester), on 24th February 1679/80 at St Bartholemew the Great, London.

Apothecary21Registers of St Bartholomew the Great, London

It seems William’s wish to be buried in the Frederick family tomb was not fulfilled as he was buried at St Helen, Bishopsgate in London 6th November 1719.

Apothecary22Registers of St Helen, Bishopsgate, London

John Wynch (211 211 211 1) was educated in Law at Trinity College Cambridge:

 “Adm. pens. (age 16) at TRINITY, Sept. 17, 1689. S. of Robert. B. in London. School, Mercers’ (Mr Seth Bonde). Matric. 1690. Adm. at the Inner Temple, Jan. 21, 1690-1.”

This John Wynch was grandfather to Alexander Wynch.  His descendants are set out in a separate post.

William Rous, Apothecary of London, is not mentioned in “A Genealogy of the Rouses of Devon” by Professor John C Street with the Assistance of C. Douglas Peters (Madison, Wisconsin, 2002).

Thomas Rous (“eventually of Topsham”) is referred to and, encouragingly, he married Hester Martyn (daughter of Robert Martyn of Burford, Oxfordshire) who died in 1674 and was buried at Southwark on 10th October 1674. This would explain why William Rous named his surviving daughter Hester.

I have identified Hester Rous, widow of Thomas Rous, Gent, as being buried at St Saviour Denmark Park, Southwark on 12th October 1670.

Apothecary25-HesterRous

 

Thomas and Hester’s son Anthony Rous, gent, was buried at St Saviour Denmark park, Southwark on 8th May 1663, an “Attorney in the Quire” and, Thomas having died in 1657, Hester may have decided to live with Anthony’s family after Anthony’s death – Anthony had marrieed Lettice Warcupp (daughter of Samuel Warcupp) and had a son, Robert, baptised 14th october 1654 at St Saviour Denmark Park, Southwark.

Thomas Rous was baptised in Rogate, Sussex on 28th July 1589 (Street’s source: IGI) and was buried at Topsham, Devon, on 2nd February 1657/8.

Intriguingly, in 1630, William Castleton and Phebe his wife conveyed Polesden Manor and Farm near Leatherhead, Surrey, to Anthony Rous (William’s uncle by this genealogy) and his [second] wife Anne.

Street’s tree, whilst not actually referring to William, shows John Rous, Apothecary of Topsham and Farringdon, Devon (William’s apprentice, the son of Robert Rous, Attorney of Devon), as William’s nephew. A reasonably likely link, especially when we consider that Luke Justice (another of William’s apprentices,married William’s niece Katherine.

This link will be explored further on a separate post Rous of Topsham.

 

 


[1] Marriage Allegations in the Registry of the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury:

July 3rd 1669: William Rous of St. Olave’s Old Jury London, City & Apothecary. Bachr abt 29 & Anne Regnier of St. Leonard’s Shoreditch Middx. Spr abt 20 with consent of her father; at St. Barth. The Great or St. Botolph Aldersgate, Lond. or St Mary Newington or Clerkenwell Middx.

[2] Robert Pead, widower married at St Katherine by the Tower, London on 8th January 1711 (aged about 40) to Hester Wyind, widow (aged about 30) by licence.

[3] Marriage Allegations in the Registry of the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury:

23rd February 1679-80: William Rous of St Olave Old Jury, London (aged about 39) licence to marry Susanna Wynch of St Giles, Cripplegate, London (aged about 34) at St Bartholemew the Great or Less, or St Sepulchre, London)

 

 

John Lorrimer, Haberdasher and Alderman of London

John Lorymer or Lorrimer was Master of the Company of Apothecaries in 1655.  In his will (proved 16th January 1660/1) he refers to a great many friends and relatives.  He says of William Rous (211 211 211 21):

I give unto my servant William Rowse forty pounds; and also I give him the thirty pounds his brother owes me by bond; and I desire my wife [Frances] to have a special regard to the said William Rowse if either she keeps or parts with the house and shop wherein I now live.

John Lorimer was buried at St Olave’s Jewry in London where his monumental inscription (on the floor near the Communion Rail) said:

UNDER THE COMMUNION TABLE IN YE VAULT
IS DEPOSITED THE BODY OF JOHN LORYMER
LATE OF LONDON ESQUIRE WITH TWO
OF HIS CHILDREN SAMUELL AND SARAH.
HERE LYETH ALSO THE BODY
OF FRANCES LORYMER THE RELICT OF
THE SAID JOHN LORYMER ESQUIRE WHO
DYED SEPTEMBER THE IX MDCLXXIV.

HERE ALSO IS BURIED THE BODY OF DOCTOR
WILLIAM CROUNE ONE OF THE FELLOWS OF
THE ROYAL SOCIETY AND OF THE
COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS IN LONDON
WHO DYED THE XII DAY OF OCTOBER
MDCLXXXIV
AND HATH LEFT BEHIND HIM HIS
SORROWFUL WIDDOW, MARY CROUNE
DAUGHTER OF THE SAID
JOHN AND FRANCES LORYMER
WHICH SAID MARY AFTERWARDS INTERMARRIED WITH
SR EDWIN SADLEIR OF TEMPLE DINSLEY IN YE COUNTY
OF HERTFORD BART AND LYES INTERRED HERE. SHE
DYED THE 30TH SEPTR 1706

This is relevant inasmuch as William Rous (211 211 211 21) who had been apprenticed to John Lorimer, was named as a trustee of the will of Lady Sadleir (formerly Croune, née Lorymer) and he later named John Wynch to be a fellow trustee.

Lady Sadleir’s will was dated 25th September 1701, bore codicils dated 2nd November 1704 and 25th September 1706 (all witnessed by Robert Pead) and was proved 6th November 1706.  In it she says:

ITEM; I give unto my good friend Mr William Rous one of my Executors hereinafter named, my medal of gold of the value of twelve pounds or thereabouts and I do hereby also further give and bequeath unto him the said William Rouse the sum of thirty pounds of lawful English money to be paid unto him at the time of my decease, and to his the said William Rous his wife Mrs Susanna Rous I hereby give and bequeath the sum of ten pounds to be paid unto her also at my decease.

she continues:

…and whereas before my intermarriage with my now husband Sir Edwin Sadleir I did convey and make over all my copyhold estates unto my then two trustees, Mr Nevill Norton[3] deceased and Mr Rous, one of my Executors hereinafter named, it is now my desire that the said Mr William Rous my surviving trustee and his executors do and shall dispose and make over my said copyhold estates to such use and uses as by this my will I have directed and appointed.

she appoints “Mr William Rous of the Parish of St Olave’s Jury, London, Apothecary” as one of her three Executors and continues:

…and whereas my good friend Mr William Rous, one of the Executors hereinbefore named has as my trustee acted and transacted several great concerns for me and in my estate I do hereby declare that all accounts are settled and evened between us to this day and therefore I do hereby for me my executors and administrators remise, release and forever quit and acquit him his executors or administrators of and from all manner of action or actions, cause or causes of actions, claims, demands and accounts whatsoever which I now have or hereafter may or can have against him or them from the beginning of the world to the date of this my last will and I do hereby heartily and really thank him for his great trouble care and pain he has had from and by me therein.

 


[1] Boyd reference 17597 (Secondary Source)

[2] Cliff Webb; Apothecaries Apprentices 1617-1699 states: “William s William, Topsham, Dev gentleman to George Larrymer 8th April 1657”

[3] Her cousin

Footnotes to Extract on Hoxton re. Henry Regnier

1 Close Roll, 695.
2 Ibid., 1059.
3 P.C.C., 2, Cobham.
4 Inq. P. M., Chancery, 2nd Series, 604/116.
5 This is an underestimate; it was nearer 5½ acres.
6 The house, etc., represented here, which is perhaps the messuage mentioned in the sale by Harris to Peake, must be one of two referred to in Wall’s inquisition, viz., either (i.) the “capital messuage with a garden thereto adjoining . . . late in the tenure of William Coates and now of Richard Gibbes and widow Mason,” held of St. Paul’s; or (ii.) the “messuage, with a barn and garden thereto adjoining, late in the tenure of Alice Herne, widow, and Matthew Dale,” held of the King in chief by knight’s service. As it was obviously built on Star Close, the similarity of tenure would render its identity with (ii.) practically certain were it not for the possibility that “Mrs. Heron,” shown in the plan of 1598 as occupying a house to the north of the Steward property, was the “Alice Herne” referred to in occupation of (ii.). For the later history of the house, see p. 134.
7 Close Roll, 3984.
8 Ibid., 4291.
9 Final concord between Wm. Harding and Thos. Beesely, quer: and Daniel Badger and Sarah, his wife, deforc. (Feet of Fines, Midd., 36–7, Chas. II., Hil.).
10 Feet of Fines, Midd., 1 Wm. and Mary, Easter. The position of the property is not stated, but later documents (e.g., sale by Hannah Sladen to John Morrison, 3rd May, 1734, Middlesex Reg. Memls., 1730, I., 313–4) give the information.
11 This part had been let on 14th March, 1701–2, to John Harding and then contained inter alia 209 pear-trees, codling trees and cherry trees left by the preceding tenant. (Chancery Proceedings, C. V., 341/24.)
12 Indenture between Thos. Edwards (1), John Mayhew (2), and Edward Sawbridge (3). (Middlesex Reg. Memls., 1770, VI., 268.)
13 Early Chancery Proceedings, 247/9. John Austen and his brother, Robert Austen, clerk, sons of William Austen and Agnes, afterward wife of William Willebye, cannot be shown to be related to the Austens who, during the 16th and 17th centuries, were one of the chief families in Hoxton (see p. 60).
14 Close Roll, 363.
15 P.C.C., 8, Coode.
16 He had obtained it through his first wife, Joan, only child of Margaret Yeomans (died 1625).
17 Chancery Proceedings, C. VII., 181/41.
18 Chancery Proceedings, C. II., 34/11.
19 Feet of Fines, Midd., 33 Chas. II., Trinity.
20 Chancery Proceedings, C. VII., 637/13.
21 Middx. Reg. Memls., 1720, VI., 220.
22 Egerton MS., 2599.
23 Its history before 1501, except for Katherine Page’s allusion to the warranty of Thomas “Halwaye,” has not been traced, but there can be little doubt that the “mese, a garden, iij rodes and iij acres of londe” in Hoxton left by Richard Hert some time in the third quarter of the 15th century (see Early Chancery Proceedings, 54/20) was the same.
24 According to Steward, only 230 feet 9 inches and 281 feet 3 inches respectively.
25 On 10th March, 1537–8, Dame “Sibell Newdegatt,” prioress of Holywell, leased to Laurence Serle” one of the yemen usshers of the chamber of the Kyng,” a strip, 12 feet wide, along the north boundary of Star Close, for the purpose of setting up a pale between the latter close and Laurence’s close, called Page’s Close (Augmentation Office, Conventual Leases, Midd. 28.).
26 Inq. P. Mortem, Series II., Chancery, 152/90.
27 Ibid., 158/4.
28 Augustine Steward, son of Simon of Lakenheath, born 27th August, 1542. Lucy survived her second marriage a very short while, and Steward married again in 1580, his second wife being Anne, daughter of Thos. Argoll, and widow of Clement Sisley (Flyleaf of Register).
29 The explanation reads: “This mapp of my house in Hoxton made by Mr. Troswell the 30th of March, 1588, sheweth yt the lengh of the close on eche side from diche to diche, countinge in garden, barne, and house, is 27 pole. And the est end is 13 pole demi & 2 foot and the west end is 13 pole demi & 8 foot. Summa, 2 acres, 1 rode 13 pole. The orchard is in lenghe 27 pole and 6 foote, and in bredth at ye west end 3 pole, and at thest end 3 pole 7 foote, and in the midest 4 pole 5 foote, demi. Summa 2 rodes 26 pole. The whole lenghe of ye orchard and close on the est side is 281 fote 3 inches. On ye west part from Mr. Hearns house toward ye Starr Close is 230 fote 9 inches.”
30 Feet of Fines, Midd., 4 Chas. I., Mich.
31 Inq. P. M., Chancery, 2nd Series, 604/116.
32 Inq., P.M., Chancery, 2nd Series, 623/46.
33 Close Roll, 4035.
34 Ibid., 4033.
35 Final concord between William Abrooke and Henry Waad quer: and Chas. Farewell deforc.: (Feet of Fines, Midd., 19–20, Chas. II., Hil).
36 Close Roll, 4318.
37 Patent Roll, 23 Chas. II., 3132.
38 P.C.C., 9 Cann (proved 15th January, 1684–5).

 

Comments or questions are welcome.

* indicates required field

 

William Rous – Wild Goose Chase

Sir John Frederick, Lord Mayor of London

Curiously, William Rous (211 211 211 21), in his will, asks to be buried:

near the vault belonging to the family of Sir John Frederick under the monument of Sir Nathaniel Herne deceased on the South side of the Parish Church of St Olave Old Jury London 

Nathaniel Herne’s inscription (on the South Wall) noted:

HERE LYETH IN HOPES OF A GLORIOUS
RESURRECTION THE BODY OF SR NATHANIEL
HERNE, KNIGHT, LATE SHERIFFE, AND AT HIS DEATH
ALDERMAN OF THIS FAMOUS CITTY AND GOVERNOR
OF THE HONOURABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY, SON
TO NICHOLAS AND GRANDSON TO RICHARD HERNE
SOMETIMES ALDERMAN ALLSO OF THIS CITTY A
PERSON OF GREAT PRUDENCE AND INDEFATIGABLE
INDUSTRY IN THE MANNER OF ALL PUBLICK
AFFAIRS OF EXEMPLARY PIETY, SPOTLESS INTEGRITY
AND DIFFUSIVE CHARITY HAVEING WITH HIS OWNE
HAND DISPENCED VERY CONSIDERABLE SUMMES TO
MANY CHARITABLE USES PARTICULARLY TO THE RELEIFE
OF POORE SEAMEN & EDUCATING OF THEIR CHILDREN.
HE TOOKE TO WIFE JUDITH ELDEST DAUGHTER OF SR
JOHN FREDERICK, KNIGHT, ALDERMAN AND SOMETIMES
LORD MAYOR OF LONDON, HIS NOW SORROWFULL
WIDDOW BY WHOME HE HAD DIVERS CHILDREN
AND LEFT THREE HOPEFULL SONS SURVIVING VIZ.
FREDERICK, NATHANIEL AND THOMAS TO WHOSE
& TO THIS CITTYES & NATIONS GREAT LOSS AS ALLSO
TO YE GREIFE OF ALL THEM THAT KNEW HIM HE
DEPARTED THIS LIFE YE 16TH AUGUST 1679 AETAT 50.

There is no reference to the family vault, nor even of Sir John Frederick in the catalogue of Monumental Inscriptions[1] but in the Parish registers for St Olave’s Jewry there is reference to the burials of Sir John Frederick on 19th March 1684/5 (will[2] proved 4th May 1685) and of his widow, Dame Mary Frederick on 19th October 1689.

Sir John Frederick was the fourth son of Christopher Frederick of London, Surgeon to King James I, who died in October 1623.  Sir John married (16th January 1636/7 at St Helen Bishopsgate) Mary Rous, the daughter of Thomas Rous of London, Merchant of Lime Street, London by his wife.  Examination of the ancestry of Mary Rous might, therefore, reasonably be expected to shed light on the ancestors of William Rous (211 211 211 21).

Dame Mary Frederick (née Ruys or Rous)

Examination of the records of Austin Friars shows the marriage on 21st April 1617 of Thomas Ruijs and Judith Moenen of Norwich (the daughter of Martin Moenen).

Extract from Parish Registers of the Dutch Congregation of Austin Friars, London

Extract from Parish Registers of the Dutch Congregation of Austin Friars, London

The will of Martin Moenen, Merchant, from Great Yarmouth (dated 9th March 16278 and proved seven weeks later on 28th April 1628) refers to his wife, Marie, his three sons, John, Abraham and Nathaniell (A), and his three daughters, Sara (B), Judith (C) and Abigail (D).  He also refers to his “Son in Law Thomas Russe”. His reference to his Brother in Law Angell Hollwicke Leonardson may suggest his wife might have been Marie Leonardson – but there is no evidence to support this and he may have been a brother-in-law by way of the marriage of his sister or even a step brother by way of a remarriage of his mother.

The Dutch at Yarmouth had a chapel for their use, which had originally been the mansion of Thomas de Drayton, a bailiff and a representative of the town, temp. Edw. III.  Whether they converted it into a chapel or not, does not appear; it was afterwards used as a theatre… but by an order of the King in 1632, it was … termed a chapel, and was theretofore used by the Dutch for their assembling and divine service…within less than forty years it was a warehouse, and it was ordered that it should therefore be used no longer for the celebration of divine service[3]

The name ‘Moenen’ seems to have become anglicised as ‘Moone’ within the first generation from Martin Moenen.

A John Moone, Merchant was noted in the Parliamentary Papers in 1642:[4]

Ordered, That the Ten Chests of Glasses, belonging to John Moone of London, Merchant, imported from Venice, and seized aboard the Ship, by Sir Robert Mansfeild, by virtue of his Patent, shall be forthwith delivered to Mr. Moone, he paying the King’s Duties and Customs for the same. And it is further Ordered, That all such other Merchants as have their Glasses seized by Sir Robert Mansfeild, by virtue of his Patent shall have the same delivered unto them. And Sir Robert Mansfeild is to attend this House forthwith; and to bring his Patents with him; and to shew unto this House, by what Authority he hath seized the Merchants Glasses.

It is not known if this is the same John Moenen.

Abraham Moone[5] (son of Abraham Moone, and grandson of Martin Moone/Moenen) was listed as being in the Parish of Bishopsgate Within between 1675-79 and in Great St Helens in London in 1677; he was born in 1638 and was buried at St Helens Bishopsgate on 4th June 1688 having married in 1663 Anne Daniel (daughter of Thomas Daniel of St Michael Wood Street).

Nathaniell Moone (A), Citizen and Merchant tailor of London refers, in his will (dated 26th April 1637 and proved 2nd September 1637), to both Thomas Ruys the Elder and Thomas Ruys the Younger (Thomas Ruys Senior was Executor with Abraham Cullen).  Nathaniell also refers to his brother John Moone, his sister Sara Moone and his Partner John Frederick.  The will was witnessed by Adam Lawrence.

WildGooseChase2

Index of Wills of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (1637)

WildGooseChase3Burial Register, St Olave, Old Jewry, London (1637)

Nathaniel Moone (A) married Elizabeth whose will was dated 14th October 1640, with a codicil of the same date and proved 9th November 1640.  In it she refers to her late husband Nathaniell Moone; her uncle Adam Lawrence and his wife; John Frederick; her husband’s brother John Moone and his three children; Judith Ruis, widow, her late husband’s sister; the eight children of Sara Puits her late husband’s sister whose legacies are to be “paid to Richard Lawrence their brother in law”; Abigaill, wife of Abraham Keullen her late husband’s sister.  In a codicil she itemises possessions as particular bequests, including:

to my sister Ruys I give my wedding ring with the diamond in it, and to my said sister Anne (sic.) daughters, cousin Mary Frederick and cousin Judith Ente, all my chaine, the turkey carpet, the three best wrought cushions to be equally divided amonge them two; and to my cousin Anne Ruys the gould wrought purse with all the same money that is therein.

Sara Moene (B) married James de Puydt or Payt (who predeceased her) and, in her will of 13th November 1638 (written in Dutch and proved 7th December 1638), she refers to her eight living children: James, Thomas, Mary, Sara, Ann, Priscilla, Judith and Abigail – she also refers to her Son in Law Richard Lawrence.  The will was witnessed by Abraham Moone (her brother) and Thomas Ruys.

WildGooseChase4Index of Wills of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (1638)

Judith Moenen (C) married at the Dutch Church of Austin Friars on 29th April 1617 to Thomas Ruijs of Gorchum (Gorinchem near Dordrecht in Holland – the Netherlands).

WildGooseChase5

Extract from Parish Registers of the Dutch Congregation of Austin Friars, London

Abigail Moenen (D) married Abraham Van Cuelen (or Van Galulen):

Abraham Van Cuelen changed his name to Cullen and it was this Abraham Cullen and Thomas Rous whos obtained a Patent in 1626 for the manufacture of stone jugs, pots and bottles.[6] Individual consignments of stoneware to the alien merchants in London in the period 1600-1640 were often very large; it was noted that in May 1633 Thomas Rous received one consignment of 10,000 cast, valued at £125.[7]

Abraham Cullen the Elder of London, Merchant, died in 1658 (his will was dated 16th January 16578 and was proved 7th September 1658). He refers in his will to his family (including to his late wife Abigaell who is buried in St Hellens Parish Church in Bishopsgate, London.  Unfortunately for these present purposes, he makes no mention of Thomas Ruys the Younger, nor any reference to William Rous which would help to tie these loose ends together.

The records of Mortlake Church[8] show:

Esther, daughter of Sr Abraham Cullen and Abigail, baptized Sep. 28, 1665;

Sr Abraham Cullen, buried Sep. 2, 1668.

Sir Abraham Cullen was the son of Abraham Cullen and Abigail Moenen (D).

Thomas Ruijs or Ruys etc.

Thomas Ruijs (or, variously, Russe, Rowse, Ruys or Rous) from Gorchum (or Gorinchem in the Netherlands) was buried on 3rd September 1640, and his will (written in Dutch 17th April 1640 and translated at the time, proved 10th September 1640) refers to his wife, Judith Ruys, and five living children: Thomas (a), Abraham (b) and Anne (c) (all under twenty-one years of age and at least Anne being unmarried) and his daughters Mary (d) and Judith (e) (both of whom, by implication, are married and have received their marriage portions). He also leaves a bequest to his Niece Anne de Puydt if she has not reached twenty-one years of age or married before his death.  He also refers to Adam Lawrence as his Uncle. Thomas Ruys also refers in his will to his Son in Law John Frederick.

WildGooseChase6

Extract from Parish Registers of St Dionis Backchurch, London

WildGooseChase7

Index of Wills of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (1640)

The registers of Austin Friars also show the baptisms of three of Thomas’s children:

WildGooseChase8 

Extract from Parish Registers of the Dutch Congregation of Austin Friars, London

Thomas Rouse (senior) was shown as living in Lime Street in the Ward of St Dionis Backchurch in 1638,[9] in a property with rental value of thirty pounds per year.

Thomas Ruys senior’s will ties in with his daughter being the same Mary Rous (d) who married John Frederick, and further research supports this.

These families combined with their great wealth a certain foregnness, which continued from generation to generation, as did their financial and trading interests.  The pre-Revocation Huguenots did not perhaps feel themselves part of a great community of their fellow-countrymen and co-religionists, but of a smaller one of protestant foreigners who had settled in England and prospered.  Both Flemish and French, they intermarried also with the Dutch community, as in the match in 1662 of Sir John [Frederick], later Sheriff of London, whose son married Leonora Maresco, to the daughter of the merchant Thomas Rouse (Ruys), a member of the Dutch Church, Austin Friars.”

Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London VOL. XXIII, NO.6
(the original reference to Sir John Lethieullier is a mistake and should read Sir John Frederick)

Mary Rous (d) or Dame Mary Frederick as she became, died in 1689 and was buried on 19th December 1689 at St Olave’s, Old Jewry, London:

WildGooseChase9

She had a number of children with Sir John Frederick, of whom some did not survive to adulthood:

Her children were:

  1. John Frederick (chr. 1st January 16378, St Olave, Old Jewry, London;

WildGooseChase10

bur. 24th May 1638, St Olave, Old Jewry); WildGooseChase11

  1. Judith Frederick (chr. 7th August 1639, St Olave, Old Jewry, London),

WildGooseChase12

who became Dame Judith Herne, wife of Sir Nathaniell Herne as shown in the Marriage Register of St Olave, Old Jewry, London of 1656:

WildGooseChase13

  1. Mary Frederick (chr. 3rd October 1641, St Olave, Old Jewry, London,

WildGooseChase14

bur. 21st January 16456, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase15

  1. Robert Frederick (b. 8th August 1646, chr. 17th August 1646, St Olave, Old Jewry, London,

WildGooseChase16

bur. 25th December 1651, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase17

  1. Mary Frederick (b. 16th April 1648, chr. 26th April 1648, St Olave, Old Jewry, London);

WildGooseChase18

bur. 8th January 16567, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase19

  1. Thomas Frederick (b. 7th July 1650, chr. 11th July 1650, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase20

  1. Anne Frederick (b. 16th September 1651; chr. 25th September 1651, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase21

  1. John Frederick (bur. 30th March 1652, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase22

  1. John Frederick (chr. 9th December 1652, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase23

bur. 6th May 1653, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase24

  1. Elizabeth Frederick (chr. 31st October 1655, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase25

  1. Mary Frederick (chr. 29th March 1657, St Olave, Old Jewry, London,

WildGooseChase26

bur. 11th June 1658, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase27

  1. Rebecca Frederick (chr. 6th November 1658, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase28

who married Francis Godsprit (or Gosfight or Gosfrith) on 22nd December 1689 at St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase29

  1. Sarah Frederick (bur. 28th July 1662, St Olave, Old Jewry, London)

WildGooseChase30

Mary’s older surviving son, Thomas Frederick (who lived at Downing Street in Westminster), was baptised in 1650.  He had issue including Sir John Frederick 1st Bt, and Sir Thomas Frederick Kt. Thomas Frederick died in June 1720.

The National Archives summarises the background to this branch of the Frederick family:[10]

WildGooseChase31

Christopher Frederick, founder of the family, came to England from Hainault during the reign of Elizabeth I, and enjoyed the queen’s patronage. He became a member of the Worshipful Company of Barber-Surgeons in 1595 and was appointed Sergeant-Surgeon to James I. The family settled in the City of London, in the parish of St Olave, Old Jewry, where they acquired considerable property.

The earliest member of the family for whom records survive in this accession is Christopher’s fourth son, John (1601-1685), who was Lord Mayor of London, 1661-1662. He was knighted in 1660. His son, Thomas (1650-1720), followed the family tradition of marrying an heiress, Leonara Maresco, in 1676. They had five children: two sons, John and Thomas (1680-1731), and three daughters, the youngest of whom, Jane, became Duchess of Atholl by her second marriage. Thomas’s marriage was stormy and, after a series of lawsuits over the Maresco property, he and his wife separated in 1715 (see 183/28/6).

The elder son, John, was created a baronet in 1723. His two sons succeeded him in turn, John in 1755, and Thomas in 1757. When the latter died in 1770 without leaving a son, the title passed to his cousin John Frederick of Burwood, who became 4th baronet.

Thomas Frederick, the younger son of Thomas (1650-1720), served in the East India Company and became governor of Fort St David and Fort St George, Madras, where he married in 1705, and where most of his children were born. He was a director of the South Sea Company and was knighted in 1721. The City of London properties were left to him by his father, who also left large legacies to his sons. Thomas used his legacy to acquire the Burwood estate at Walton on Thames. His three eldest sons, Thomas, John (later 4th baronet) and Charles, and three daughters, Mary, Henrietta and Hannah, appear in these records. Mary married Alexander Hume, MP, and Hannah his brother Abraham, who was created a baronet in 1769. Henrietta married Luke Spence of South Malling, Sussex (see 183/22/1-17). The younger Thomas Frederick (1707-1740) was MP for Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, until his death, when his brother John took over the seat. He relinquished it to his younger brother, Charles, in 1746, and became MP for West Looe in Cornwall.

Charles Frederick was MP for Shoreham, 1746-1754, and then for Queenborough, Kent, until 1784. He entered the Office of Ordnance and was Comptroller in 1749 at the time of the celebrations of the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, being responsible for the ill-fated firework display. In 1761 he was created a Knight of the Bath. In 1746 he married the Hon Lucy Boscawen, a daughter of Viscount Falmouth. They had three sons, Charles, Thomas Lenox and Edward Boscawen Frederick, and two daughters, Augusta, who married Thomas Prescott, and Lucy who married Crispe Molineux.”
(my emphasis and footnotes)

Kimber & Johnson[11] note, under 321. FREDERICK, of Westminster:

Created BARONET, June 10, 1723.

This family is descended from Sir John Frederick, Knt. (son of Christopher Frederick, citizen of London) lord-mayor of the city of London, 1662, who was one of the most considerable traders in the said city.  He was a worthy benefactor to christ’s Hospital, and left issue Thomas Frederick, of Downing street, Westminster, Esq; who had three sons,

  1. Sir John Frederick, Bart, of whom hereafter;
  2. Sir Thomas Frederick, Knt. who went to the Indies, acquired a considerable fortune, and there married; and left issue, Thomas Frederick, Esq; member of parliament for Shoreham, in Sussex, who died in 1740; John Frederick, of Burwood, in Walton upon Thames, in Surry, Esq; who succeeded his brother in estate, and as member for Shoreham, and married a daughter of Sir Roger Hudson, Bart.  Sir Charles who has served in several parliaments for Queenborough, in Kent, in 1746, he was appointed clerk of deliveries in the office of Ordinances; in 1750 was made surveyor of the Ordnance, and assistant to the master-general of the Ordnance; in March 1761, he was elected Knight Companion of the noble order of the bath, and installed May 26 following.  He married Lucy, daughter to the Right Hon. Hugh Boscawen, Viscount Falmouth, and has issue.  The other children of Sir Thomas were, Marisco, who is a colonel on half pay; and four daughters, of which the eldest married Alexander Hume, Esq.  Lady Frederick, surviving Sir Thomas, was remarried to William Pointz, Esq; receiver-general of the excise.
  3. Charles Frederick, Esq; who died unmarried; also three daughters, Mary, the eldest, married Thomas Powell, of Nanteos in Cardiganshire, Esq; Leonora, (deceased) who married Rumney Diggle, of Grays-Inn, Esq; and Jane, who married, first, James Lannoy, of hammersmith, in Middlesex, Esq; and since, his grace the Duke of Athol.

Sir John Frederick, Bart, the eldest son, was advanced to this dignity in the ninth year of King George I.  He married, in July 1727, one of the daughters of __ Kinnersley, Esq; by whom he left two sons, Sir John, his successor, and Sir Thomas, the present Baronet.  His lady died Aug. 31, 1749, and Sir John in Oct. 1755. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir John Frederick, who died unmarried, March 24, 1757, and was succeeded by his only brother.

Sir Thomas Frederick, the present baronet, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Pater Bathurst, of Clarendon Park, in Wiltshire, Esq; by which lady, who died Sept 11, 1764, he has two daughters.

ARMS: Ot, on a Chief, Azure, three Doves, Argent.

CREST: On a Cap of Dignity, Azure, turned up Ermine, a Dove, as in the Arms, holding in his Beak and Olive-Branch, proper.

SEAT: At Hampton, in Middlesex.”

Judith Ruys (e), who was baptised 26th March 1622 at the Dutch Church of Austin Friars, the daughter of Thomas Ruijs and Judith Moenen (C), married firstly, 21st August 1638 at St Dionis Backchurch, London, to Peter Ent of St. Lawrence Jewry, London and of Sandwich in Kent.  Peter Ent was a Clothworker and Citizen of London.  His brother was Sir George Ent kt. (born 6th November 1604, died 13th October 1689, recorded in various volumes as the son of Josias Ent (sometimes called John Ent), a Belgian immigrant.  The Heraldry of Foreigners in England 1400-1700 (Harleian Society) notes that Josias Ent, a Dutchman probably married Judith, the daughter of Francis Beake (or Beke) of Norwich, whose ancestors came out of Flanders.  Judith Ruys and Peter Ent had a son and two daughters, who died young. The second daughter, Judith was baptised 11th December 1642 at St Olave Old Jewry, London, and was buried on 20th July 1655 at St Christopher-le-Stocks.  Peter Ent’s will was dated 16th June 1644 and was proved 3rd September 1644, in which he refers to his Mother in Law Judith Ruys (C).

WildGooseChase32Register of St Olave, Old Jewry, London (1639)

WildGooseChase33Burial Register of St Olave, Old Jewry, London (1640/41)

WildGooseChase34Register of St Olave, Old Jewry, London (1640)

WildGooseChase35Register of St Olave, Old Jewry, London (1642)

Judith Ruys or Rous (e) married secondly on 22nd February 16523 to John Adrian, a Merchant of London who was born circa 1603.  John Adrian’s first wife, Hester de la Tombe had died in September or October1652 (she was buried on 7th October 1652) by whom he had three surviving infant children, and, at the time of his second marriage, Judith’s infant daughter was still alive. John Adrian was assessed in 1662 with 11 hearths at Broad Street in St Christopher’s Precinct in the City of London. John Adrian died at Caen in France on 5th October 1669 and in his will (dated 6th November 1667, proved 22nd October 1669) he refers to “Judith Rouse my wife’s mother”.

WildGooseChase36Register of St Christopher-le-Stocks, London (1669)

Judith Adrian died in 16867 and was buried on 6th January that year at St Christopher-le-Stocks.

WildGooseChase37Register of St Christopher-le-Stocks, London (1687/88)

WildGooseChase38Visitation of London 1634 (Hester la Tombe, first wife of John Adrian)

Thomas Adrian was born on 28th December 1653

WildGooseChase39Register of St Christopher-le-Stocks, London (1653)

Thomas Adrian married Anne Crispe 16th November 1675 at St Sepulchre, Holborn by licence[12]:

11 Nov 1675 Thomas Adrian, of St Sepulchre’s, Lond., Bachr, abt 22, & Anne Crispe, of the same, Spr, abt 22, with her brother’s consent; alleged by Thomas Rock, of Doctors’ Commons, Lond., Gent.; at St Peter’s the Poore or St Christopher’s the Stocks, Lond.”

WildGooseChase40Register of St Sepulchre, Holborn, Middlesex (1675)

Thomas Adrian’s will, dated and proved in 1701 refers to his late mother Judith Adrian but gives no further clues to unlocking William Rous’s identity.

Judith Adrian was born 21st January 16556

WildGooseChase41Register of St Christopher-le-Stocks, London (1655/56)

Judith married Sir Nicholas Crispe 30th April 1674 at St Mary, Islington, by licence dated 20th April 1674:[13]

Crispe, Sir Nicholas, of the Middle Temple, bart., bachelor, about 30, and Mrs Judith Adrian, of St Dunstan-in-the-West, spinster, about 20, her mother’s consent – at, St. Pancras, Middlesex. 20 April, 1674. V.”

WildGooseChase42Register of St Mary, Islington, Middlesex (1674)

Judith Crispe, daughter of Sir Nicholas Crispe, died in 1700: [14]

27 Jul 1700 Mrs Judith Crispe d. of ye late Sr Nicholas, Patron of ys Church, was Buried in yr own Vault”

Anne Rous (c) married John Niclaes, a Merchant who was engaged in trade with India for the Honourable East India Company (for example the following excerpt from 1662: [15]

That the undermentioned persons are to take place in order as they are underwritten in each place, vidiz :

Fort St. George. Sir Edward Winter, Knt. and Bart., Mr. William Gifford, Shem Bridges, James Noell, Nathaniel Budlie, Thomas Stiles, Robert dearinge, William Dawes, Edward Harris, Thomas Haslewood, Stephen Charlton, John Grover, John ffeild, Isack Jones, John Hopkins.

Metchlepatam. Mr. William Jearsie [and five others].

Mettapollum. Mr John Niclaes [and two others].

Pettepolie. Ambrose Saulsbury [and another].

To go downe into the bay. Mr. William Blake [and three others].

(Fac. Rec. F. St. G., vol i., 20th Oct., 1662.)

The volume: “The English factories in India, 1618-1669: a calendar of documents in the India Office, British Museum and Public Record Office” indicates that John Niclaes first went to India in 1662.  Niclaes was injured in fighting on the Coromandel Coast in 1663.  In 1664 Niclaes was summoned to Madras which he resisted.  Niclaes was arrested and imprisoned and, in due course in 1664 ordered back to England.  In 1668 in the Court Rolls of January 15, Niclaes was ordered back to Madras.[16]

In the Prerogative Court of Canterbury the will of John Niclaes’s father was proved in 1649 – apparently before John Niclaes married Anne Rous (c).

WildGooseChase43

Anne Rous (c) and John Niclaes (or Nicholas) had, according to Dame Mary Frederick’s will, three daughters:

Judith Niclaes who married first William Edwards and had a daughter Anne Edwards– referred to in Dame Mary Frederick’s will as “my Cousin Anne Edwards, spinster, Daughter of William Edwards, late Citizen and Apothecary of London, deceased”:

“20 Mar 1670-1 William Edwards, of St Matthew’s, Friday Street, Lond., Apothecary, Widr, abt 40, & Mrs Judith Niclaes, of Wandsworth, Surry, Spr, abt 22, with consent of her mother; at St Alphage, Lond.”[17]

Judith married secondly to Valentine Sparrow on 23rd April 1685 at St Botolph, Aldgate:

WildGooseChase44Register of St Botolph, Aldgate (1685)

Judith may be the same Judith Sparrow, widow who was buried at St Giles Cripplegate on 13th June 1720 (Valentine Sparrow’s will was proved in 1703, leaving behind his widow, Judith; his two sons, Valentine and Edward; and his daughter, Judith):

WildGooseChase45Register of St Giles, Cripplegate (1720)

Anne Niclaes married Thomas Willie on 26th December 1682 at St Olave, Old Jewry, London by licence:

22 Dec 1682 Thomas Willie, of St Bottolph’s, Aldersgate, Lond., Mariner, Bachr, abt 30, & Mrs Anne Nicleas, of St Olave’s Jury, Lond., Spr, abt 24, at her own disp.; at St Olave’s or St Lawrence, Old Jewry, Lond.[18]

WildGooseChase46Register of St Olave, Old Jewry, London (1682)

Mary Niclaes whose married name was Price.

Going back to the children of Thomas Ruijs (or, variously, Russe, Rowse, Ruys or Rous) from Gorchum and his wife, Judith Ruys née Moenen (C); from the records of St Dionis Backchurch, London, we can see the baptism on 18th February 16267 of twin boys Abraham (b) and Jacob Rowse born to Thomas Rouse.

WildGooseChase47Extract from Parish Registers of St Dionis Backchurch, London (1626/27)

Jacob did not survive more than a few days and was buried at St Dionis.

No clear evidence has been discovered yet to identify what became of Abraham Rouse (b), although in 1664 an Abraham Rous was assessed for Hearth Tax at Codpis Courte in the Ward of St Margaret Westminster (he had three hearths).

Abraham le Roux, Merchant of London (will of 1652) refers to several of the same names from the Dutch Congregation as cousins – including John Adrian, the second husband of Judith Ruys (e), daughter of Thomas Ruys and Judith Ruys (née Moenen (C)).  He does not, however, seem to be the same Abraham Ruys.

Adam Lawrence (sometimes also referred to as Abraham Lawrence), referred to in Thomas Ruys’s will as his Uncle, refers to Judith Rowse (C) in his will of 1656:

I give to my kinswoman Judith Rowse widow the sum of twenty five pounds to buy her a piece of plate in remembrannce of me provided that she shall makeseal and deliver her act and deed unto my executor a full release and discharge of all legacies gifts and bequests whatsoever given to her by the last will and testament of my late loving wife and of all claims and demands or other pretences whatsoever for or concerning the same, I having in my lifetime given unto each of the daughters of my said cousin Judith Rowse the sum of two hundred pounds apiece for and towards their preferment in marriage; otherwise this legacy to be void.”

Judith Rouse (Rowse or Ruys, née Moenen) (C) refers in her will (dated 10th October 1667 and proved 27th April 1670) to five children, namely her daughters Anne Niclaes (c) (wife of John Niclaes), Dame Mary Frederick (d) (wife of Sir John Frederick) and Judith Adrian (e) (wife of John Adrian), and her sons Thomas Rowse (a) (and his wife Anne) and Abraham (b).  She also refers to her Grandson Nathaniel Herne and his wife Judith, and other named grandchildren: Thomas Frederick, Elizabeth Frederick, Rebeckah Frederick; Thomas Adrian, Judith Adrian, Mary Adrian; Judith Niclaes, Anne Niclaes, Mary Niclaes; Anne Rowse, Judith Rowse and Elizabeth Rowse.  There is still no reference to William Rous, but it seems that not all grandchildren are listed.  The will suggests there were children of Thomas and Anne and that there may have been children of Abraham, although no reference is made to Abraham having (had) a wife.  The will divides Judith’s estate into twenty parts of which five parts to Thomas Rowse, five parts to Anne Niclaes, three and a half parts to Abraham Rowse with six and a half parts remaining between Judith Adrian, Mary Frederick and her Grandson Nathaniel Herne.

WildGooseChase48

From bequests register accessed through www.londonlives.org (April 13th 2013)

No record has yet been found of the baptism of Thomas Ruys or Rouse Junior (a).  Boyd’s Inhabitants of London suggests that Thomas Rouse junior married Anne Nicholas, daughter of John Nicholas at Holy Trinity Minories in 1647.  The extract from the Marriage Register of Holy Trinity Minories (below) – written in the margin of the register – suggest that Thomas Rowse (a) married his cousin Ann Niclaes on 4th November 1647, and Boyd notes that Thomas Rouse was a Merchant and was also His Majesty’s Agent in Tunis.  The Boyd entry (ref 29516) suggests Thomas Rouse junior had six children: John (1651), Anne, Judith, Elizabeth, Abigail and Mary.  Again, no sign of William Rous (211 211 211 21).

WildGooseChase49Marriage Register of Holy Trinity Minories (1647)

The marriage of Thomas Rowse and Ann Niclaes in 1647 was too late for them to be the parents of William Rous (211 211 211 21), given that he was apprenticed in 1657. Perhaps (assuming this was the same Thomas Rowse (a)) he had married before and/or had William before he was married to Ann.

There was a Thomas Rowse who was admitted to the Freedom of the East India Company on 27th March 1650, and who subsequently transferred five hundred pounds in United Joint Stock to John Frederick.

Thomas Rowse [and others] admitted to the freedom [of the East India Company] on payment of 5L each and 10s to the poor box.” [19]

And then again on 28th May 1652:

Thomas Rowse transfers to John Fredericke 500/. adventure and profits in the United Joint Stock, all of which is paid in.” [20]

There is a further reference to a Thomas Rouse on 28th April 1675:

Thomas Rouse to be paid 5I. for transcribing the Ledger and Journal of Surat Factory No. L” [21]

And on 2nd June 1675:

The accounts of John Niclaes and Charles Smeaton to be examined and reported.”

And on 20th September 1675:

(Court Book, vol. xxix, P. 314)

Dr. William Aglionby is admitted to the freedom by redemption. A report touching the account of the late John Niclaes is read certifying that he is debited 200L for 500 pagodas for his debt to Sir Thomas Chamber which debt Sir Thomas in the late award assigned to the Company, the bond being in Mr. Jerzey’s hands, which the executrix of Niclaes alleges is satisfied by his inventory amounting to 593 pagodas, which sum came to Jerzey’s hands.”

And, finally, on 10th November 1675

(Court Book, vol. xxix, P- 371)

A report touching the account of the late John Niclaes is read and approved, and order given for the sum of 194L. 6s. 8d. due on the said account to be paid to those authorized to receive it.”

Summary of Descendants of Martin Moenen

From the above analysis we can deduce the following:

1.  Martin Moenen (d. 1628) of Great Yarmouth

sp. Marie; they had issue:

.    a.  John Moenen (alias Moone) who had issue including

.        i.   Judith Moone

.    b.  Abraham Moenen (alias Moone) who had issue including

.        i.   Mary Moone

.    c.  Nathaniell Moenen (A) (alias Moone) Citizen and Merchant Tailor of London
(d. 1637; bur. Sep 1 1637, St. Olave Old Jewry, London

.    sp.  Elizabeth (d. 1640); they had no issue

.    d.  Sara Moene (B) (d. 1638)

.    sp1. __ Lawrence; they had issue

.         i.   Richard Lawrence

.    sp2.  James de Puydt (d. bef. 1638); they had issue

.         i.   James de Puydt

.         ii.  Thomas de Puydt

.         iii. Mary de Puydt

.         iv. Sara de Puydt

.         v.  Ann de Puydt

.         vi. Priscilla de Puydt

.         vii. Judith de Puydt

.         viii. Abigail de Puydt

.    e.  Judith MoenenC) (bur. Nov 12 1669, St Dionis Backchurch, London)
.         m. Apr 21 1617 (Austin Friars, London)

.    sp.  Thomas Ruijs of London but from Gorinchem, Netherlands, Merchant
.         they had issue

.        i.    Thomas Ruys (Rous) (a)

.        sp.   Ann Niclaes; they had issue

.        ii.   Mary Ruys (Rous) (d) (bap. Mar 8 1617/18, Austin Friars, London)
.          m. Jan 10 1636/37 (St. Hellen, Bishopsgate, London)

.        sp.  Sir John Frederick (d. Aug 16 1679); they had issue

.               1.  John Frederick (b. 1637; d. 1638)

.               2.  Judith Frederick (b. 1639)

.               sp.  Sir Nathaniell Herne

.               3.  Mary Frederick (b. 1641; d. 1645/6)

.               4.  Robert Frederick (b. 1646; d. 1651)

.               5.  Mary Frederick (b. 1648; d. 1656/7)

.               6.  Thomas Frederick (b. Jul 7 1650; bap. Jul 11 1650)
.                 m. 1676

.               sp. Leonora Maresco; they had issue two sons and three daughters

.               7.  Anne Frederick (b. 1651)

.               8.  John Frederick (d. 1652)

.               9.  John Frederick (b. 1652; d. 1653)

.               10. Elizabeth Frederick (b. 1655)

.                 sp.  Joseph Herne

.                11. Mary Frederick (b. 1657; d. 1658)

.                12. Rebecca Frederick (b. 1658)
.                 m. 1689

.                 sp.  Francis Gosfright

.                13. Sarah Frederick (d. 1662)

.        iii.   Judith Ruys (Rous) (bap. Mar 26 1622, Austin Friars, London)
.         m1 Aug 21 1638

.        sp1. Peter Ent; they had issue

.                1.   Thomas Ent (b. 1639; d. 1640)

.                2.   Judith Ent (b. 1640; d. 1641/42)

.                3.   Judith Ent (b. 1642; d. 1655)

.         m2  Feb 22 1652/3

.         sp. John Adrian; they had issue

.                1.   Thomas Adrian (b. 1653)

.                2.   Judith Adrian (b. 1655/6)

.                3.  Mary Adrian

.        iv.  Abraham Ruys

.        v.   Jacob Ruys

.        vi.  Anne Ruys (c)

.        sp.  John Niclaes, Merchant

.   f.  Abigail Moenen (D)

.   sp.  Abraham van Cuelen or Galulen (changed his name to Cullen)
.          they had issue including

.       i.   Sir Abraham Cullen

In the will of Dame Mary Frederick[22]Mary Rous (d) – far from unravelling any mystery of William Rous’s forebears, Mary refers only to ‘my Sister Anne Rouse’ – whom I take to be the wife or widow of Thomas Rous (a) – and to her sister Anne Nicholas (c) and her surviving children.

What is not clear, therefore, is how William Rous (211 211 211 21) fits into this emerging set of relationships.  A reasonable working hypothesis would be that, since William Rous wanted to be buried in the vault where Mary Rous was buried, there was a close familial relationship between them.

All in all, this seems to be a Wild Goose Chase, but the mystery of William Rous’s testamentary request remains nonetheless.

 

 

[1] Monumental Inscriptions in the Church of St Olave’s Jewry, London; privately printed for Frederick Arthur Crisp, 1887 (accessed via www.archive.org)

[2] 11/380/16870&1 – National Archives, Kew

[3] Swinden’s Yarmouth p. 849

[4] ‘House of Commons Journal Volume 2: 12 April 1642’, Journal of the House of Commons: volume 2: 1640-1643 (1802), pp. 523-524. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=789  Date accessed: 19 April 2013

[5]     ‘Maycock – Mynne’, The Rulers of London 1660-1689: A biographical record of the Aldermen and Common Councilment of the City of London (1966), pp. 101-119. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=31889&strquery=abraham moone    Date accessed: 03 April 2013.

[6] http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol06/vol06_05/06_05_132_138.pdf :

“The recipients [of the Patent in 1626] were brothers-in-law of Netherlands descent who had come to London from Norwich by 1618 and were general import merchants. Rous had been born at Gorinchem in the province of South Holland, some 25km from Dordrecht; Cullen, though born in England, was descended from an old Brabant family. In this case there is certainly evidence of serious intent to establish stoneware manufacture in the London area, provided by records made in the winter of 1626-7 by a Dordrecht lawyer, which were noted by the late Karl Gobels, Frechen archivist, in the course of his studies of the history of Frechen stoneware. These show that there were negotiations between a  Dordrecht merchant ,  Pieter  Jaspersz Leysten,  acting  for Rous  in London,  and a Frechen potter, Hermann Statz, with a view to the latter moving to London with his family to make stoneware for Rous”

[7] A   J   Toppin   ‘Rous   and   Cullen, merchants  and  potters’ Trans English  Ceram  Cirde  1 no  5

( 1937)  38-48 and  R  Edwards  (1974)

[8] P. 371.—Extracts from the Register (Mortlake) – ‘Appendix: Corrections to volume 1’, The Environs of London: volume 4: Counties of Herts, Essex & Kent (1796), pp. 577-617. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45496 Date accessed: 03 April 2013.

[9] ‘Inhabitants of London in 1638: St. Dionis Backchurch’, The inhabitants of London in 1638 (1931), pp. 47-48. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=32004 Date accessed: 17 April 2013

[11] The Baronetage of England (Kimber & Johnson) Volume 3 (1771)

[12] The Harleian Society. Allegations for Marriage Licences Issued by the Vicar-General of The Archbishop of Canterbury, 1669 To 1679. Volume 34

[13] London, England, Marriage Licences, 1521-1869: Kent: Canterbury – Marriage Licence allegations, Dean of Westminster, 1558-1699 and Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury, 1660 to 1679 (Marriage)

[14] London: St. Mildred (Bread Street) & St. Margaret Moses – Parish Registers, 1558 – 1853

[15] Indian Records Series Vestiges of Old Madras 1640-1800 By Henry Davidson Love

[16] Commission to Capt. John Brookehaven, William Jearsey, Captains John Price, Henry Risby, Thomas Harman, Richard Goodlad and William Wildy, John Niclaes, Walter Clavell, Roger Broadnax, John Bridger, Richard Smithson, Joseph Hall, Matthew Manwareing and Thomas Moore, merchants. Whereas 11 April last we required Sir Edward Winter and his adherents, then unduly in possession of Fort St. George and the town of Madraspatan, to surrender the same to George Foxcroft, agent for the East India Company, or others appointed by the said Company, declaring that, if Sir Edward Winter and his adherents should notwithstanding refuse to yield up the same, they should be proceeded against as rebels and traitors; now forasmuch as it is yet unknown whether the said declaration safely arrived in those parts and what effect it produced and that the East India Company, being sending ships to those parts, have besought us to give commission (in case Sir Edward and his adherents have refused and shall still persist to refuse to yield obedience to our commands) to endeavour to reduce the said fort by force of arms or otherwise, we therefore grant to you or any three of you full power (in case the said Sir Edward and his adherents have hitherto refused to obey our said commands) in our name again to command Sir Edward to deliver up the said fort to the said George Foxcroft or such other person as shall be appointed by the said Company and, in case he shall endeavour by force of arms to hold the same, to endeavour by force of arms or otherwise according to the annexed instructions or such further orders as you shall receive from the said Company to reduce the said fort and town to obedience, and we grant you or any three of you full power to commissionate such persons as shall be thought fit to levy, arm, train and lead such number of seamen and soldiers and to employ such number of vessels equipped in a warlike manner as the service shall require, therewith to block up by sea and land and to take the said fort and town and to fight with and kill or take prisoners any that shall resist and to detain such as shall be taken prisoners or send them for England or release them and to do as the emergency shall require, and you are to observe the orders and directions of the said Company

 

From: ‘Charles II: January 1668’, Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles II, Addenda 1660-1685 (1939), pp. 234-250. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=58212&strquery=niclaes Date accessed: 12 April 2013.

[17] England: Canterbury – The Harleian Society. Allegations for Marriage Licences Issued by the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury, 1669 To 1679. Volume 34.

[18] England: Canterbury – Marriage Licences Issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury, 1679-1694

[19] A Court of Committees for the Fourth Joint Stock – March 27, 1650 (Court Book, vol. xx p.516) A Calendar for the Court Minutes of the East India Company 1650-1654 (Ethel Bruce Salisbury) p33-4

[20] A Court of Committees for the Fourth Joint Stock and the United Joint Stock, May 28, 1652 {Court Book vol. xxi) A Calendar for the Court Minutes of the East India Company 1650-1654 (Ethel Bruce Salisbury) p. 187.

[21] The Court Minutes etc. of the East India Company 1674—1676 (Ethel Bruce Sainsbury)

[22] Dame Mary’s will was dated 18th September 1689 and proved 20th June 1692