The wife of George Stillman (Stileman) (Stillman-17) of Hadley & Wethersfield, is currently on this tree as Jane, the daughter of Sir Gilbert Pickering of Titchmarsh; and there is a fanciful story attached to this couple involving the Monmouth Rebellion (and in many versions George Stillman changing his name to Pickering because 'Lady Jane' was an heiress 'of the nobility'.)
The fact that Sir Gilbert Pickering of Titchmarsh only had 1 daughter who lived to adulthood (& this was Elizabeth Creed (pickering-1287)) is easily proven & to this effect I have posted Sir Gilbert's will on his profile (pickering-14).
There are various pedigrees showing between 1 - 4 daughters, but none are ever named Jane. None of the other daughters (Mary, Ann & Frances) are mentioned anywhere else, so if they lived, they seem not to have lived long.
Further corroborating evidence is found on the monuments erected by Elizabeth Creed in Titchmarsh church to her brothers Theophilus & Francis, in which she names herself as their only sister & that of her son Richard Creed in Westminster Abbey (& also another to him in Titchmarsh) where she names herself as the only daughter of Sir Gilbert Pickering. (It would seem heartless of her to do this if her sister had lived and had children. And from the wording of Sir Gilbert's will, the monuments themselves, & Elizabeth rushing back to Titchmarsh when her brother Oliver died, (also mentioned in Pepys diary) they seem mostly a loving family.)
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/richard-creed
(e.g. Here is the link to the monument of Richard Creed & the brother's monuments can also be viewed online. If you can't find, I can point you in the right direction.)
Besides this evidence, the whole story, as told on numerous trees, is historically & practically unconvincing and I am not sure why it's been copied so many times without question -
Firstly, if Jane were a daughter of Sir Gilbert she would never have the title 'Lady' as Sir Gilbert was only a baronet.
Secondly, as can be seen from the will, & from various entries in the diary of Samuel Pepys, the Pickering family were on their uppers & Jane would have had little or no inheritance (so Mr Stillman would have no reason to change his name.)
Thirdly, the idea that the couple were pardoned for their part in the Monmouth rebellion because of Jane's 'nobility' - oh dear! (Just to add, the Monmouth rebellion is well documented, but no trace of this couple can be found. And what were they doing there anyway??) If we imagine for a moment Jane was the daughter of Sir Gilbert; he was a regicide, who was only pardoned by the intercession of his brother-in-law, & banned from public office. I imagine this would add to the severity of the couple's punishment & not have alleviated it.
These bonkers stories fascinate me, and looking at where this one came from it seems there are no sources; although 'Lady Jane Pickering' is repeated in many old books. The wording is always 'tradition' or 'probably', and it seems the surnames Pitcairn, Pigot and Picard have also been mentioned 'traditionally' with this lady. (Here I must mention that there is also a 'tradition' in most of these books that George Stillman was a Cromwellian, or a regicide. For someone born circa 1654, the word precocious doesn't even cover this.)
It is not until 1989 in The Stillman Family by Francis D Stillman that Sir Gilbert Pickering is mentioned. To quote: - ‘Lady Jane may have been the daughter of Sir Gilbert Pickering, one of the judges on the commission to try Charles I, and his wife Elizabeth, sister of the Earl of Sandwich.’
This idea seems to have been picked up and run with. (with no sources or evidence.)
The story of the Monmouth Rebellion is not mentioned in any book and seems to have grown to life on the internet.
There is a website called www. stillman.org which is, uh-hum, disengenuous in it's laying out of 'facts' & misleading in a number of areas. I note a lot of the biographies on family trees borrow from here.
(The owner of this site is either extremely gullible and misinformed, or should be a little ashamed, quite frankly. This site makes good use of a lot of work by others which does not prove either Jane or George's heritage, but is nicely worded & insinuates documented sources exist where they don't.)
Incidentally, after the will of Sir Gilbert was probated the remaining children put forward a suit against brothers John & Gilbert regarding property in Titchmarsh.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C5417332
The diary of Samuel Pepys is also handily online & the various mentions of the Pickering family can be found quite easily.
(As far as I'm aware, the evidence for the parents of George Stillman, the husband, is not conclusive either.)
P.S.
Another researcher got in touch with me to say they are pretty much convinced that Jane Pickering et al are the work of Gustave Anjou - but I don't know anything about this - possibly worth looking into?