Joan (Legard) Townley (abt. 1530 - aft. 1586)

Born about 1530 in Anlaby, Yorkshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Richard Skepper — married about 1551 in England

Descendants

Died after 7 Mar 1586 after about age 56 in East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, England

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Biography

Joan was the daughter of Ralph Legard and Isabel Hildyard.^[1][2] (She is called Jane in the Harleian Society edition of Flower's Yorkshire visitation.^[3]) She may have been born at Anlaby, Yorkshire, where her father had his main residence. Her birth date is uncertain and has been estimated as about 1530 on the basis of the date of her marriage settlement.

Joan married twice. Her first husband was Richard Skepper^[3] of East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, and a settlement for their marriage was dated 4 February 1550/1. She was his second wife.^[1][2][4] They had four known children:

• Bridget, probably born in about 1551,^[4] who married Sirach Disney^[1][2] and who is named in her father's will^[4][5]
• Edward, found to be 4 at his father's death on 1556, pointing to a birth date of about 1552.^[1][2][4][6]
• Thomas,^[1][2] born about 1553 and died before 1557^[4]
• George,^[1][2] born about 1555, married someone called Susanna and died without issue in 1606-7^[4]

Richard Skepper's will was dated 26 May 1556.^[4][5] After that date Joan remarried, her second husband being Robert Townley^[3] of Boston, Lincolnshire. They had two children,^[1][2] named as executors in their father's will:^[4][7]

• William^[4][7]
• Margaret^[4][7]

Robert Townley was buried at East Kirkby, Lincolnshire on 9 March 1585/6. His wife Joan was also buried there.^[1][2][4] His will, dated 7 March 1585/6 and proved on 22 March 1586, refers to his wife, but not by name: Joan was clearly alive when he made the will in 1585 as it includes the words "not knowing whether my wife shall live in this world after me" as an explanation of why he had chosen his children to be his executors rather than her.^[4] (Maddison's Lincolnshire Wills gives the date of Robert's will and probate as 1585.)^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. IV, p. 32, SKEPPER 14
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. IV, pp. 639-640, SKEPPER 19
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Charles Best Norcliffe (ed.). The Visitation of Yorkshire in the years 1563 and 1564, made by William Flower, Esquire, Harleian Society, 1881, p. 186, Internet Archive
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11} Mary Lovering Holman. The Skepper Family, in 'The American Genealogist', Vol. 20, 1943, pp. 77-79, American Ancestors website ($)
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} A R Maddison. Lincolnshire Wills, first series, James Williamson, 1888, p. 52, Hathi Trust
6. ↑ A R Maddison. Lincolnshire Pedigrees, Vol. III, Harleian Society, 1904, pp. 883-884, Internet Archive
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} A R Maddison. Lincolnshire Wills, first series, p. 106, Hathi Trust

See also:

• Hansen, James L. Ancestry of the Rev. William Skepper/Skipper of Boston, Massachusetts, in 'The American Genealogist', Vol. 69 No. 3, July 1994 p. 131, American Ancestors website ($)

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was re-reviewed for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 12 January 2024.

Joan (Legard) Townley is in project-approved/badged trails (reviewed March 2016 by a Project member) from Gateway Ancestor William Skepper to Magna Carta Surety Barons William d'Aubigny, Gilbert de Clare, Richard de Clare, John de Lacy, Saher de Quincy, and Robert de Ros. Joan (Legard) Townley also appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail between Gateway William Skepper and surety baron Roger le Bigod (vol. IV, pages 30-33 SKEPPER) that has not yet been developed by the Magna Carta Project. All the trails named above are detailed in the Magna Carta Trails section of Edward Skepper's profile.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".