Mee family get together

[Wyrm]

Hi Diddy, I look forward to seeing you at the Diseworth event. I may have more info about the Derbyshire/Leicestershire Mee family after a proposed visit (next month) to Leicester Records Office to view John Mee's original will of 1552.

I believe the family members named in John Mee's will, ie... Avorete Mee and Mr Chalons Howet are typos from the original transcriptions. They are most likely to be Margaret (Margarete) (Margareta) Mee and Nicholas or Nicholai Howet (Howett or Howitt).

Any thoughts?

I've only just seen this thread on this forum... just a bit late to make it up to Diseworth!
The names make sense - I have a Margaret Howett as the wife of John Mee. However I believe Avorete Mee is the daughter of John's son Roger (according to the will).

I have been tracing the Mee Family back for quite a bit and not just my direct line. I have a searchable website at Mee Family and would love anyone who can fill in any gaps or if they have a tree that fits in with something on mine then I'd happily add it to the site.

[diddymiller]

So sorry you missed this. I did put it on well before Christmas.


I will take this post with me to add info & be in touch after.


Diddy

[Wyrm]

Hi Diddy, I look forward to seeing you at the Diseworth event. I may have more info about the Derbyshire/Leicestershire Mee family after a proposed visit (next month) to Leicester Records Office to view John Mee's original will of 1552.

I believe the family members named in John Mee's will, ie... Avorete Mee and Mr Chalons Howet are typos from the original transcriptions. They are most likely to be Margaret (Margarete) (Margareta) Mee and Nicholas or Nicholai Howet (Howett or Howitt).

Any thoughts?

I've only just seen this thread on this forum... just a bit late to make it up to Diseworth!
The names make sense - I have a Margaret Howett as the wife of John Mee. However I believe Avorete Mee is the daughter of John's son Roger (according to the will).

I have been tracing the Mee Family back for quite a bit and not just my direct line. I have a searchable website at Mee Family and would love anyone who can fill in any gaps or if they have a tree that fits in with something on mine then I'd happily add it to the site.

Just as a follow up to this. Having looked at the original document there are words missed out of the transcription (such as 'husbandman' which should be there after 'Lecestr').
The phrase 'm' cholans howet' is a case where a part of the word has been misinterpreted. There is a definite ny at the start not m' and also the n in 'cholans' is actually a u when you look closely at it - so it actually reads nycholaus howit.
As for 'Auorete', it definitely starts with a capital A but the u looks more like an n and the o more like a c, so it reads more like Ancrete - not a common name but there have been other Ancretes in the 16th century (Ancrete Dyer, Ancrete Parsons).

[helbrtn]

Yes, I agree Wyrm that makes more sense, especially as a Nicholai Howet is named as father to at least 3 children in 1560's.

I also found that Elizabeth, daughter of John Mee and Margaret Howett, married not a John Gratton but a John Wootton.

It makes me wonder what else is incorrect.

[Wyrm]

Yes, I agree Wyrm that makes more sense, especially as a Nicholai Howet is named as father to at least 3 children in 1560's.

I also found that Elizabeth, daughter of John Mee and Margaret Howett, married not a John Gratton but a John Wootton.

It makes me wonder what else is incorrect.

Firstly, there is no indication that Elizabeth is John's daughter and there is some evidence that John may have had a brother with the Mee surname. I'm looking into that at the moment.
Secondly, I have this Elizabeth Mee marrying John Thorpe on 16/4/1543.

What you have discovered is the second marriage of Roger Mee's wife. Roger Mee (son of John) married an Elizabeth but he died in 1558 and Elizabeth Mee (as she would have been known then) married John Wootton in 1559.

[helbrtn]

Yes, got my Elizabeths mixed up! It is Roger's widow I was thinking of.

[Wyrm]

Yes, got my Elizabeths mixed up! It is Roger's widow I was thinking of.

It's bad enough with the large numbers of descendants with the names William, Thomas, and Robert! I lose track all the time.

I've been concentrating on John's children - and unfortunately there isn't a lot of information on most of them.
William is easy because he left a Will which mentions all his children (except Richard who seems to have died just after he was born and before the Will was written). As his wife is not mentioned it is assumed she died before him so we don't have a name.
There are sites listing John (the son) as dying in 1605 but that would make him almost 100 so instead it seems more likely that John who died in 1605 (leaving a Will) was William's son - thus we have no information on what happened to John (the son).
Roger we know had at least one daughter Ancrete, but there is very little else we know.
There are sites listing Robert (who married Jane Wilson) as dying in 1602 but again that would make him almost 90 which would be unusual. So it is possible that Robert (the son) had a son Robert who died in 1602 (leaving a Will) or it was William's son Robert who died in 1602. The Will of Robert (1602) is not fully preserved unfortunately but it does mention his wife Jane and that he's in Aston upon Trent. It also mentions a William Baldock as being his daugh??? son. Jane's Will mentions all the children including the daughter's married names but none of them are Baldock. Robert's son William mentions his uncles John Wright and John Wilson, and his cousins Richard and Margaret Wilson in his Will of 1616, and Jane mentions John Wright as living next door. Did Robert have an earlier marriage or is John Wright married to one of Robert's sisters? Ther is a Maude Mee who died in 1567 - was this Robert's first wife or John's (John Mee's son) wife, or is it Robert's mother if this isn't John's son Robert but his grandson?
There are records of an Ellen Mee and Grace Mee who were married and would have to be daughters to one or other of John's (the father) children. Who their father was is unknown but it wasn't William.
Loads of questions.

[helbrtn]

You are right L. If only our ancestors had been more creative with their names we would have had a much better chance at sorting it all out.

My Mees are recorded in Ingleby, Foremark, Tick(en)hall and Repton in 1600s and later. I have a similar problem with Gilbert Mee. There's loads of them!

There are so many recorded burials of Mee family members at Ticknall, but only one standing gravestone - that of Gilbert and Ann Mee. He was a descendant of Francis Mee and Sarah Gilbert. There is a record of Francis providing lime to the Harpur estate (now Calke Abbey). Methinks this was brought about by his marriage to Sarah Gilbert who's pa owned one of the three lime yards in Ticknall.

As you said, loads more questions ....

[Rob - Leicester]

I have some Mee's in Quorn and Barrow Upon Soar... But your mention of Diseworth reminded me that I once owned a Diseworth Churchwarden's Accounts book 1838-1879 and the name Mee was in that. I gave the book to the Leicester & Rutland Records Office - but before I did so I transcribed it (I had more spare time in those days!).

The transcription and an explanation can be found at :-

https://sites.google.com/site/robgrantsfamilyhistory/diseworth-churchwardens-book

There is a Robert Mee, a Reuben Mee and a 'K' Mee mentioned in it.

I hope somebody finds this useful

Rob