Alice Hen[d]ley of Cranbrook

[MattD30]

Hi

I'm hoping someone can possibly help me identify my ancestor Alice Hendley (also Henley, Henly, Henle, and Hendle).

Alice married Thomas Sheafe, a clothier, in Cranbrook (or near there) in the early 1500s (between 1520 and 1530 possibly).

My problem is that despite extensive research on the Handleys I cannot work out who her parents were. I have examined several Hendley wills and those of related families as well as online resources including published journals, and online trees submitted to various sites by other researchers which include evidence.

Thomas and Alice named one of their sons Gervase, a name which isn't found in the Sheafe family before that. This suggests that it came from Alice's side of the family and could be the name of her father or a brother.

Richard Sheafe was born c1505 and so far despite finding three Alice Hendleys I've not found one born around the right time.

There is an Alice Hendle born in Cranbrook c1452 the daughter of John and Mercy Hendle. She would be 50 when Richard was born and is unlikely to be the mother of his children.

Then there is Alice Hendle daughter of Thomas and Joane Hendle. She can be discounted immediately as by the time her father died in 1495 she had married Edward Horden. Her father, who died in 1495, and mother, who died in 1508, both left wills in which Alice is referred to as the wife of Edward Horden.

A number of trees I've seen online suggest Alice was the daughter of Gervase Hendley (son of Thomas and Johane) who was born in 1471 and died in 1534. This would make sense as it would explain where the name Gervase came from.

Thankfully Gervase Hendle left a Will, however there's no mention of Alice in it. He does though mention his 'cousin' Gervase Hendle who appears to be the son of his elder brother John (John's children are named in the Will of his father Thomas, mentioned above).

The fact that the Hendley and Sheafe families were related is also shown in Richard Sheafe's will where he names his cousin Walter Hendley. His overseers were Sir John Baker and Mr Richard Baker, and Gervase Hendle's sister Agnes was married to a Baker.

I'll stop there but add an update later.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Matt

[Elliemay1950]

Hi Matt
I am a descendant of Alice Henley & Edward Horden and many of the Grey Coats of Kent. I have done a massive amount of research into my family tree, and extended many lines.

Although not proved positive, I'm more inclined to think that the Alice Henley who m. Thomas Scheaf could well be one of the un-named daughters of John Henley & Agnes Courtop. Age wise plus all the connecting names via the various wills is more fitting, than all of the assumptions I've seen entered in trees. 

John Hendle[y] c.1457-1531 of Cranbrooke m. Agnes Courtop.
Will 1531 mentions son Gervas Henley c.1489, and daughters but not by name. Also mentions a John Sheff (? Richards brother).

Son:
Gervas Henley c.1489-1543 of Cranbrook
had a son Walter Henley and also mentions a Thomas Sheffe in his will. ? son of (Richard Sheafe) born c.1532).

Richard Sheafe Will of 1554:
Witnesses: George Atkynson, vicar, Richard Courtop, William Cortopp, Henry Allard, Water Henly.

[MattD30]

Hi Matt
I am a descendant of Alice Henley & Edward Horden and many of the Grey Coats of Kent. I have done a massive amount of research into my family tree, and extended many lines.

Although not proved positive, I'm more inclined to think that the Alice Henley who m. Thomas Scheaf could well be one of the un-named daughters of John Henley & Agnes Courtop. Age wise plus all the connecting names via the various wills is more fitting, than all of the assumptions I've seen entered in trees. 

John Hendle[y] c.1457-1531 of Cranbrooke m. Agnes Courtop.
Will 1531 mentions son Gervas Henley c.1489, and daughters but not by name. Also mentions a John Sheff (? Richards brother).

Son:
Gervas Henley c.1489-1543 of Cranbrook
had a son Walter Henley and also mentions a Thomas Sheffe in his will. ? son of (Richard Sheafe) born c.1532).

Richard Sheafe Will of 1554:
Witnesses: George Atkynson, vicar, Richard Courtop, William Cortopp, Henry Allard, Water Henly.

Hi there

Thanks for the reply. I haven't looked at the Hen[d]le[y] line for a while or the Sheafes so I will have to go back through my notes with your info. However what you've said sounds familiar and looks right based on what I know.

I have collected several Wills for the Hendley and Sheafe families and they tend to help as well.

The name Gervase is familiar as I believe he is mentioned in other Wills.

Anyhow I will reply more in full tomorrow or over the next few days when time allows.

Best Wishes

Matt

[MartinGM]

I am pretty certain that I have solved the mystery of Alice who married Thomas Sheffe.

I posted this in Wikitree recently . . .

Alice the daughter of Thomas Henley and Joan Shoyswell was married to Edward Horden and Joan's will dated 1508 referes to her as the wife of Edward Horden. But Alice had to have married Thomas Sheffe before then, as they were already having children.

HOWEVER, Thomas' older brother John (rarely mentioned) also had a daughter Alice and, for her, the dates work because she didn't have a husband before she married Thomas Sheffe. Her birth date is unkown. She seems to be the only Alice Hendley who could have been Thomas' wife.

Now we come to the inevitable muddle when assigning wives, two of whom were called Mary, to a succession of men all called John Henley.

Sometimes the oldest John Henley that I know of is said to have married Mary Mercy (Forster) and there are other variations.

I believe that the correct assignations are actually as follows . . .

John Henley (Will dated 8 November 1472, Proved 2 December 1472), the brother of Thomas Henley (who died in 1496) married Mercy (maiden name uncertain). This 1472 date keeps cropping up (it has been stated as the death date of all 3 John Henleys) but I have only seen the one document sourcing it - the will above. Family Search states, un-sourced, that this John Henley married Mercy Daniels. I have found no corroboration, nor anything to deny this assertion.

John's (above) father John Henley (approx 1400 - 1472) married Mary Braley. He could well have died in the same year as his son as the younger John was only 32 when he died.

John's (above) father John Henley (no dates for him at the moment) married Mary Forster

That's all I have - would be delighted if anyone can fill in any of my gaps !

[MattD30]

I am pretty certain that I have solved the mystery of Alice who married Thomas Sheffe.

I posted this in Wikitree recently . . .

Alice the daughter of Thomas Henley and Joan Shoyswell was married to Edward Horden and Joan's will dated 1508 referes to her as the wife of Edward Horden. But Alice had to have married Thomas Sheffe before then, as they were already having children.

HOWEVER, Thomas' older brother John (rarely mentioned) also had a daughter Alice and, for her, the dates work because she didn't have a husband before she married Thomas Sheffe. Her birth date is unkown. She seems to be the only Alice Hendley who could have been Thomas' wife.

Now we come to the inevitable muddle when assigning wives, two of whom were called Mary, to a succession of men all called John Henley.

Sometimes the oldest John Henley that I know of is said to have married Mary Mercy (Forster) and there are other variations.

I believe that the correct assignations are actually as follows . . .

John Henley (Will dated 8 November 1472, Proved 2 December 1472), the brother of Thomas Henley (who died in 1496) married Mercy (maiden name uncertain). This 1472 date keeps cropping up (it has been stated as the death date of all 3 John Henleys) but I have only seen the one document sourcing it - the will above. Family Search states, un-sourced, that this John Henley married Mercy Daniels. I have found no corroboration, nor anything to deny this assertion.

John's (above) father John Henley (approx 1400 - 1472) married Mary Braley. He could well have died in the same year as his son as the younger John was only 32 when he died.

John's (above) father John Henley (no dates for him at the moment) married Mary Forster

That's all I have - would be delighted if anyone can fill in any of my gaps !

I've not looked at this family for several years myself as I became unsure of the Sheaffe/Sheafe link on my tree but at the moment that is neither proven nor disproven.

Let me check I have read this correctly. Starting with the earliest people we have

John Henley who married Mary Foster. They were the parents of

John Henley [c1400-1472] who married Mary Braley. They in turn were the parents of

John Henley [died 1472 leaving a will] who married Mercy Daniels
Thomas Henley who died 1496

Both this Thomas [d1496] and John [d1472] had daughters named Alice. One of whom married Thomas Sheaffe/Sheffe.

Beyond this I don't have anything else to add yet but it would be good to know if this is how the tree fits together. If I do find anything else out I will let you know.

Matt

[MartinGM]

 Yes Matt, that is my reading . .  .  with the addition that Thomas Henley's daughter Alice cannot have been the Alice who married Thomas Sheffe - for the reason I gave : statements in BOTH her parents' wills make this impossible.
Whilst it is by no means proof, the only Alice left seems to be John Henley's daughter !
Cheers
Martin

[MattD30]

Yes Matt, that is my reading . .  .  with the addition that Thomas Henley's daughter Alice cannot have been the Alice who married Thomas Sheffe - for the reason I gave : statements in BOTH her parents' wills make this impossible.
Whilst it is by no means proof, the only Alice left seems to be John Henley's daughter !
Cheers
Martin

Hi Martin

I'm glad I understood your message correctly as I had to read it a few times. Now, after reading this message, I am confused again though.

You say that Alice Henley dau of Thomas cannot be the one who married Thomas Sheaffe, and that by conclusion the only other candidate is Alice daughter of John.

Are Thomas and John related? Are they brothers or cousins?

Like I said before I have not looked at this family in many years so I am not sure where the line fits in lol!

Matt

[MartinGM]

Hi Matt,
The short answer is that John Hendley and Thomas Henley, who both had daughters called Alice, were brothers.
Here is the longer version (I find it difficult to format these ancestor lists in Rootschat): as far as I know, all the events listed took place in Cranbrook . . .
John (1) Henly = Mary Forster [no dates at all]
Son of the above, John (2) Henley = Mary Braley [no dates at all]
Sons of the above were John (3) and Thomas Henley
John (3) Henly (will dated 8 Nov 1472, proved 2 Dec 1472) = Mercy Daniels (d c1490). Their daughter Alice married Thomas Sheffe (will dated 5 Apr 1520, proved 10 Jul 1520) around 1496
Thomas Henley (will dated 11 Sep 1495, I think, proved 11 Feb 1496) = Joan Shoyswell. Their daughter Alice married Edward Horden. Alice and/or her husband Edward are menioned in the wills of both of Alice's parents Thomas and Joan, which is the information which makes it impossible for her to have married Thomas Sheffe.
In passing, Thomas Henley and Joan Shoyswell had a son Gervase Hendley (will dated 15 Nov 1533, proved 6 May 1534) who married Elizabeth Roberts.
Three notes:
1. I am unsure when the "d" crept into Henley
2. The Roberts family were originally Rockhurst or Rookhurst of Glassenbury Manor. Elizabeth's father changed the name as he thought that Rockhurst was too "common"
3. I have used the Gregorian calendar throughout