The Sheafe family of Wye

[jibba]

Hi all

I’m trying to trace the origins of my 11th great-grandmother Elizabeth Sheafe (c.1610). The earliest (current) record of her is in her marriage licence to Valentine Austin. They married on 29 July 1634 at St Margaret’s Canterbury. She is listed as a spinster, 24 years old, and the daughter of Sarah Sheafe.

After looking at a few sites, and confirming them against what PR records I have, the following are also listed as daughters of Sarah Sheafe

Sarah (d.1658) x1 Timothy Titherton(d.1678) 10 Aug 1633 at St Gregory & St Martin, Wye
Mary x1 John Tetherton 26 Nov 1639 at St Margaret, Canterbury

The problem is trying to find the baptism records for these sisters, of which I have been unsuccessful as I cannot find a matching fathers name for all three. There is a prisoner called Thomas Sheafe who was buried at Wye in 1633. This could be their father or a possible brother, as both Elizabeth’s and Sarah’s eldest sons are called Thomas, but this is currently not proven

I believe that Elizabeth and her family are related to the Sheafe family from Cranbrook, given that other Sheafe’s around the Canterbury area share similar names with them, and it would be nice to confirm this

Is there anyone out there that has studied the Sheafe name in Kent, and might be able to point me in the right direction? Is there anyone who might be able to find out if the above Thomas is relative of Elizabeth, and what his crime was?

Regards
Lee

[Gigi]

Hi Lee,

There are a lot of Sheafes in Cranbrook. I have a Sheafe connection by marriage. My 11th x gt grandfather Henry Gibbon 2nd marriage was to Anne Sheafe in 1584 Benenden. Anne was previously married to John Knatchbull. My Sheafes originated from Cranbrook.

If you google Elizabeth Sheafe in books, there is a baptism for Elizabeth Sheafe dau of Thomas bap 20th June 1613 Cranbrook in the book "The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 4".

There also a son Richard bap 1612, a daughter Margaret bap 1614 and possibly a son Thomas.

I have also found a burial for Thomas Sheafe in Cranbrook 12 Feb 1627 which fits in with his death before his daughter's marriage in 1634.

Hope that helps!

Gillian

[bearkat]

There are several SHEAFE wills which might be worth investigating

http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/ekwills_a/series/ekp_p1/ekp_p1n_shar.html

http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/ekwills_a/series/ekp_p2/ekp_p2n_s.htm

[Zacktyr]

Hello Lee,

Elizabeth Sheafe of whom you speak is also my 10th-great-grandmother.  Like you, I too, have been attempting to find the origins of her family.  She was the third wife of Valentine Austin. 

I have been through extensive records of the Cranbrook group and can find no evidence to support a connection there, except a slim possibility that the mother was Sarah Gyllebrand, the former wife of Harman Sheafe.  Harman died young and left behind two known girls bearing similar names to the girls of our mutual Sarah and also born at appropriate times for the Titherton marriages.

However, I have been trying to following the family Edmond Sheafe, who is claimed to be a brother on two of the girls marriage licences as well as one Timothy Sheafe.  Although no relation is stated for Timothy Sheafe I would expect that he would have been a brother, uncle or close cousin.  I do have some notes on Edmond and Timothy but do not have them at hand as I write this quick reply to your posting.

The Thomas in Elizabeth and Valentine's family is, I believe, named for Valentine Austin's brother, Thomas, in the place of the Thomas born to Valentine's second wife, that Thomas having died as an infant.

It is interesting to note that there is a distinct possibility that another direct Sheafe cousin married into the same Austin line - a descendant of Valentine's son , to wit: 

SHEAFE, Caleb married AUSTEN, Mary on 22 Nov 1683, she 20, spinster, do Matthew, maltster, of Wye & Caleb Sheafe, bachelor, 28, of Willesborough   Canterbury   ML.  Caleb had a brother named Edmund, also at Willesborough.

I would be interested in hearing your line of descent from this family.  Mine is through Henry Austin and Mary Rigden.

Regards,
Susan

[jibba]

Hi Susan

Sorry for the delay in replying. I had also seen the names Harman and Caleb turn up in various registers. They must be related, but as you said it is trying to find those elusive links to confirm that they are from the same family.

My link to Valentine and Sarah is via their son Thomas, whom you mentioned above, and his wife Jane Gibbs

Regards
Lee

[MattD30]

Hi Lee

Elizabeth Sheafe is also my ancestor through her marriage to Valentine Austen [his second marriage]. Their daughter Elizabeth Austen was married to John Kennett from Wye. At the moment I have the same information as you regarding her mother and siblings. I have also found Sheafes in Cranbrook and other parishes but so far I haven't established who the father of Elizabeth and her siblings is yet. I have found references to several wills but not yet looked at them.

I look forward to hearing from you and other Sheafe researchers and seeing if we can trace Elizabeth's family.

Best Wishes

Matt

[MattD30]

Hello Lee,

Elizabeth Sheafe of whom you speak is also my 10th-great-grandmother.  Like you, I too, have been attempting to find the origins of her family.  She was the third wife of Valentine Austin. 

I have been through extensive records of the Cranbrook group and can find no evidence to support a connection there, except a slim possibility that the mother was Sarah Gyllebrand, the former wife of Harman Sheafe.  Harman died young and left behind two known girls bearing similar names to the girls of our mutual Sarah and also born at appropriate times for the Titherton marriages.

However, I have been trying to following the family Edmond Sheafe, who is claimed to be a brother on two of the girls marriage licences as well as one Timothy Sheafe.  Although no relation is stated for Timothy Sheafe I would expect that he would have been a brother, uncle or close cousin.  I do have some notes on Edmond and Timothy but do not have them at hand as I write this quick reply to your posting.

The Thomas in Elizabeth and Valentine's family is, I believe, named for Valentine Austin's brother, Thomas, in the place of the Thomas born to Valentine's second wife, that Thomas having died as an infant.

It is interesting to note that there is a distinct possibility that another direct Sheafe cousin married into the same Austin line - a descendant of Valentine's son , to wit: 

SHEAFE, Caleb married AUSTEN, Mary on 22 Nov 1683, she 20, spinster, do Matthew, maltster, of Wye & Caleb Sheafe, bachelor, 28, of Willesborough   Canterbury   ML.  Caleb had a brother named Edmund, also at Willesborough.

I would be interested in hearing your line of descent from this family.  Mine is through Henry Austin and Mary Rigden.

Regards,
Susan

Hi Susan

I've just read your post with a lot of interest, in fact I had to read it twice! I've just posted a reply to Lee's initial post about the Sheafe family of Wye and having read your message I thought I should add another reply.

Elizabeth Sheafe is my ancestor through his marriage to Valentine Austen. I see that you have this as his third marriage, however I only have a record of two. On 24 September 1625 he married Jane Terrell [widow] in the parish of Brook. The marriage was by Licence and both were described as 'of this parish'. Valentine was 30 and is described as a bachelor and Jane was 22. Jane died in about 1634 and Valentine married Elizabeth Sheafe of Wye. This time he is described as a widow and she is described as a virgin, and again the marriage was my Licence and took place at Canterbury (St Margaret), Kent. Her age was testified by her brother Edmond Sheafe, and the bondsman was Timothy Titheron of Wye. Her sister Sarah married Timothy on the same day at Wye, and Valentine Austen was the bondsman to this marriage. Another sister, Mary, married John Titterden [Titherton?] of Boughton Aluph on 29 November 1639 at Canterbury (St Margaret), and again the bondsman was Valentine Austen. There is also mention of a Timothy Sheafe who might be a brother. These details are taken from the Canterbury Marriage Licences: Second Series.

I would be interested if you have any other details on either Valentine's marriages or any details about the Sheafe family.

I know that Valentine was the son of Matthew Austen and his wife Tomasin Austen and I have copies of the Wills of Matthew, Tomasin and Valentine if you are interested in those. Valentine was born in Chilham in 1595 and had brothers called Thomas and Henry. I also know that Valentine and his wife Jane had a son named Matthew born in 1629 who I guess was probably the father of the Mary Austen who married Caleb Sheafe in 1683.

I would be very interested to hear back from you and hopefully we can find out some more details about both the Sheafe family and the Austen family.

Best Wishes

Matthew

[MattD30]

There are several SHEAFE wills which might be worth investigating

http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/ekwills_a/series/ekp_p1/ekp_p1n_shar.html

http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/ekwills_a/series/ekp_p2/ekp_p2n_s.htm

These links no longer appear to be working.

[MattD30]

Hi Susan

Sorry for the delay in replying. I had also seen the names Harman and Caleb turn up in various registers. They must be related, but as you said it is trying to find those elusive links to confirm that they are from the same family.

My link to Valentine and Sarah is via their son Thomas, whom you mentioned above, and his wife Jane Gibbs

Regards
Lee

Hi Lee

I was wondering if you had any details on Jane Gibbs or her parents. I also have Gibbs [or Gibbes] in my tree and again they are connected [although not directly] to the Austens and Sheafes. My ancestor was Margaret Gibbs who married William Kennett, who himself was the son of John Kennett and Elizabeth Austen [daughter of Valentine Austen and Elizabeth Sheafe].

I know that Margaret Gibbs had a brother named William and that they were the children of William Gibbs and Margaret Hall but at the moment I have no other details about the family. I would be really grateful if you can add anything to this.

Many thanks and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Matt