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Previous: Chapter 3.A Richard of Tewksbury
Section 3 : Tewkesbury
Chapter 3.B
Richard's children
Having introduced Richard BRUSH of Tewkesbury and children, in chapter 3.A, it becomes necessary to identify them in a more mechanical way. Without this we will become hopelessly lost in a jumble of multiple references to John, Richard, Thomas, Margaret, Anne and others.
As described in Chapter 1.D (setting out the conventions used in this history), Richard of Tewkesbury, the will maker, is from this point on referred to as Richard[T1] and his son as Richard[T2]. This letter & number is a unique numbering sequence identifying the individual. Occassionly they will be shown in the format Richard [T2](2). The extra number in round brackets refers to their generation, with Richard[T1] arbitrarily identifed as generation(1). Wives, who assume the name BRUSH on marriage, are identified by a letter added to their husband's reference so Joan, the wife of the first Richard, is Joan [T1a](1). If he had had a second wife (though there is no suggestion he did) her reference would be [T1b]. Similarly John Kembridge the husband of Alice Brush would be identified as [T5a](2).
In his 1558 will(1), Richard BRUSSHE[T1](1) refers to his wife Joan, to his sons Richard, Humphrey and Lewes and to three daughters Elizabeth, Alice and Ann. Richard[T2](2) is identified as the eldest son. Each time he refers to the two younger sons, Humphrey is named first and on a balance of probabilities this seems likely to reflect birth order. Reference is also made to two sons in law, Thomas DUTTON and John KEMBRIDGE(2), and to his servant Thomas VIRGO. The will tells us that it was Alice who married John KEMBRIDGE but we do not know whether Thomas DUTTON had married Elizabeth or Ann.
There is a 1582 will of Thomas Dutton of Minchinhampton in which he names an Elizabeth as his wife. There is also a burial of Thomas at Minchinhampton on 1 March 1582(3) although Ancestry wrongly transcribes this as a baptism. There are not a lot of Dutton entries in Gloucestershire (I can see none in Tewkesbury until the 1580s) so this is a possibility - particularly since the KEMBRIDGE family also appears at Minchinhampton. An Elizabeta Dutton, widow, is buried at Minchinhampton in March 1605(6). Countering this link there is a marriage of Thomas Dutton to Elizabeth WILLIAMS at Northleach in 1573.
Lewes (which is presumably an alternative spelling of Lewis) is a relatively unusual Christian name. I believe it only appears at two other places in the Brush record; but it does seem (from They used to live in Tewkesbury)to be one of the family names that crops up in Tewkesbury - might Joan[T1a]have been a LEWIS before her marriage?(3)
We do not know when or where Richard[T2], Humphrey and Lewes were born or married. It appears that the general practice was that the marriage took place in the bride's family parish though, just as now, there are exceptions. There are 8 parishes immediately surrounding and adjacent to Tewkesbury(3) and several more within a few miles. It would therefore be no particular surprise if the sons had married in another parish. But their marriage dates precede the earlest parish registers. Tewkesbury does certainly seem to have been the family home and each of the sons later appears to have had their children baptised at Tewkesbury.
The will of Richard[T1] certainly shows that at 1558 he was living in Tewkesbury and other records already mentioned show that the property referred to was leased by him in 1538/9.
The land given to Richard the younger in the will is:
"two little closes with the appurtenances which one of them is set, lying and being within the parish of [Forthampton] in the county of Gloucester called Wythybed, joining to the water of Severne and on the west side of the same water on and against the passage there called Wytteslode, and the other of the said closes hath in him a weare house and is set, lying and being within the parish of Tewkesbury and in the said county of Gloucester joining to the said water of Severne and near to the passage aforesaid over the east side..."
A close seems to mean simply an enclosed piece of land. When it refers to "the passage" this does not (as best I can tell) refer to an alley way or suchlike but to a river crossing. A property deed from the prosperous local Dowdeswell family for example refers to a "passage over the Severn between Tewkesbury and Bushley called the over or upper Load".
I can find no reference anywhere online to Wythybed in Tewkesbury or Forthampton nor to Wytteslode but from the description of the location it would seem to be what is now called the Lower Lode - which is still a small ferry crossing. A wythy or withy is 'a tough, flexible branch of an osier or other willow, used for tying, binding, or basketry' and it seems clear that Whythbed or withy bed is a patch of land near a river in whch withies are grown. It appears that osier or willow beds were a common wetland feature along the River Severn.
There is a reference by Norah Day to the BRUSH family still enjoying the use of the property in 1687.
Using my standard conjectural formula for birth dates(4), it seems likely that the eldest son Richard T2 was born in 1530 +/-5 with Humphrey and Lewis born during the following 5 - 10 years up to 1537. 1537 is given as a latest date since the will of Richard T1 includes no indication that any of the children were then still minors (i.e under 21). The will also shows that at least two of the daughters were already married by 1558. Six children by 1537 (plus any who did not survive childhood) suggests a marriage for Richard T1 no later than 1525-30. The 1548 court case may suggest that Richard T2 was already an adult by then which would put his birth date back before 1527.
The 1558 will of Thomas Jones, otherwise called Thomas Capper, of Tewkesbury refers to his wife Elizabeth. His will is complicated but he refers to Robert Capper, William Capper (referred to once as Cowper), Margaret Brushe the wife of Rychard Brushe and to Allyce Treherne - referring to them as sons in law and daughters in law. All children of his wife born while she was Mrs Capper? Wife Elizabeth gets a life interest and then his property is divided up - with Margaret getting one of two tenements in tenement in Seynt Marye Street, Tewkesbury. The wording (with gaps) seems to indicate that there were already children born to Margaret and the possibility of more.
Robert Cowper's will of 1559, one year later leaves specific items of clothing:
"Item, I give to my brother, Wyllym Cowper, my cloak and a coat that I have at Thomas Taylors, a chamlett doublet and my jacket. Item, I give to Rychard Brusshe, my medley gown(5) furred with fitchew"
In a case in 1559 in the Gloucester Consistory Court involving the will of Elizabeth JONES or CAPPER reference is made to "Margaret BRUSCHE wife of Richard BRUSCHE" who we will presume was Richard[T2](2). Margaret [T2a] was the daughter of Elizabeth JONES/CAPPER.
The 1560 will of Elizabeth MALLET of Tewkesbury was witnessed by "Richard Brusshe, ……, and Kewes Brusshe, with others". It even looks as if Humphrey was originally written in as the witness but was replaced by Lewes at the last minute.
The reference to Kewes is in a typed transcript(6) and presumably is to Lewes. Elizabeth could be (but, of course, need not be) the daughter of Richard the elder. Though she is described as a single woman rather than as a widow. It is very hard to read but I do not get the impression of the witnesses being relatives.
If Elizabeth was a daughter then it must have been Ann who married Thomas Dutton. The Dutton family looks suited to a bit of research!
As previously mentioned the will of Richard T1(1) is most informative not only about the existence of his wife and children but also about his circumstances. // Quote and Elaborate// Assess how well off he was; property deed references from Tewkesbury history.//What exactly was his trade
Since the Tewkesbury baptism record begins only in 1559 and we have no record of their marriages it may well be that any or all of the generation (2) BRUSH men had other children elsewhere or had them before 1559 in Tewkesbury. In section 3.C the suggestion is strongly made that Richard[T2] had a son Richard[T8] in the period 1555-58.
The Tewkesbury Parish Registers for 1560 to 1578 record 19 children born to Richard, Humphrey and Lewis. In each case they identify the child only as "X son of Y". We cannot say categorically therefore that the named father is the person of the same name identified by Richard T1(1) in his will. In the absence of any particular evidence to the contrary let us assume they are the same. We have no reason to say otherwise. It is certainly possible that there were others named BRUSH having children in Tewkesbury at the same time, as discussed in the next chapter but we will make no progress without making some assumptions. It is highly unlikely that any new evidence exists or will ever appear to determine the point.
Baptisms of children of Richard at Tewkesbury:
My father's research notes also assert that Edward, son of Richard was baptised at Tewkesbury on 9 October 1560 but the register copy I have seen does not show this. I am unsure where this suggestion comes from.
The register entries name only the father Richard, but the Jones/Capper/Cowper wills from 1558 and 1559 indicate that Richard's wife was Margaret nee Jones or Capper.
In the middle of this sequence we find two (or three) baptisms of children by John Brushe or Bruche. See chapter xx
Baptisms of children of Humphrey at Tewkesbury:
Baptisms of children of Lewis at Tewkesbury:
It is suggested that this baptism of Elizabeth in 1578marks the end of the generation (3) baptisms.
At 1587 the will of Joan Cox mentions Lewis. "I desire my good neighbours Thomas Milliard, Humphrey Higgins, and Lewis Brushe, to be my overseers to this my last will and testament. Witnesses hereunto: Thomas Malliard, Humphrey Higgins, Lewis Brushe, Thomas Jeffries." http://tewkesburyhistory.com/wills/joancox1587.html
We know of no wills, death or burial for Humphrey or Lewes. All we can say is that Humphrey dies sometime between 1576 and sometime around 1622 when he would have been about 90 and Lewes sometime between 1587 and around 1625 . Richard Straley, a correspondent of FWB, asserted that Lewes was buried at Tewkesbury on 14 March 1603/4 but this is unsourced.
Errors? More information? Comments? Please do get in touch: brushdw@gmail.com
NEXT: Section 3.C, Tewkesbury; Generation 3
(1) back to text The date the will was prepared and signed; we do not know when he died and when the will was proved. [is this not odd - presumably it comes from a probate record? ]
(2) back to text An alternate spelling for CAMBRIDGE? The name Kembridge reappears a century later marrying a Thomas BURGE - which may just be a coincidence or may be a long term family link: Thomas Burge. &. Mary Kembridge ...... Glos., b.,. &. Elizabeth Lidiard, wid., Zic., both of age 31 Oct. 1786. Nathan Washbourn, b.,. &. Dorothy Heath, of ... www.genuk-online.com/wiltsphillimores/eisey.pdf
(3) back to text The recycling of family surnames as forenames will occur several times in this work. For a wider study of the practice an interesting website is the middle names study by Hugh Wallis: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/WiltshireMiddleNamesIGI.htm
(4) back to text Forthampton, Chacely, Walton Cardiff, Ashchurch, Tredington, Twyning, Deerhurst and Elmstone Hardwick. Second Tewkesbury parish?,
(5) back to text Woman at 25 and men at 28. Where no marriage is known I also assume a father to be born 30 years before the baptism of the first known chid. As described in chapter 1.D
(6) back to text Medley cloth seems to have been a medly of colours and to have been relatively new at this period. Fitchew is an old term for the European polecat.
(7) back to text All the information for this reference comes from "They used to live in Tewkesbury" p52. More detail in Appendix xx Was Margaret a JONES or a CAPPER/COPER? Was JONES a maiden name or was there just a common law marriage to Jonne COPER?
(8) back to text http://tewkesburyhistory.com/wills/elizabethmallet1560.html