Mary (Melford) Need (abt. 1565 - bef. 1631)

Born about 1565 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Humphrey Need — married 15 May 1586 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England

Descendants

Died before 27 Jun 1631 before about age 66 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England

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Magna Carta Surety Baron Descendant (see text). Join: Magna Carta Project Discuss: magna_carta

Mary Melford is a descendant of a number of Surety Barons. See below.

Biography

Birth and Parentage

Mary Melford was born around 1565 in Arnold, England, the youngest child of Thomas Melford, Gent. and his wife Dionise (Denise) whose maiden name is unknown.^[1]

Marriage and Issue

On 15 May 1586 at Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England, she married Humphrey Need, husbandman (small landowner).^{[2][3] [4]} It was said as a husbandman Humphrey got lucky to marry a local gentleman's daughter. They had three children:^[2]

1) Agnes,^[3] b. aft. 15 May 1586, d. aft. 25 Mar 1602^[1]

2) Helen,^[3] b. aft. 15 May 1586, d. bef. 25 Jul 1591^[1]

3) Humphrey,^[3] b. 15 Aug 1590,^[5] d. 8 Nov 1668^[6]

Mentioned in Wills

Mary was named as “my daughter Mary Ned” in the will of Humphrey’s mother, Agnes Need, the elder of Arnall (Arnold), dated 19 May 1588 and proved 14 Oct 1588.^[7]

Mary's husband died in 1591 after only 5 years of marriage and was buried on 8 Sep 1591 at Arnold, Nottinghamshire.^[2][3] In his will dated 25 July 1591 and proved 7 Oct 1591,^[2][3] he left his wife Mary half of his residual goods, appointed her executrix, and gave her the tuition, governing and bringing up of their children Humphrey and Agnes during their minorities. To his daughter Agnes he left the other half of his residual goods.^[1][8] This implies that their daughter Helen had died prior to 25 July 1591 at 5 years of age or younger.

Mary survived him by almost 40 years, apparently without remarrying. She was buried at Arnold on 27 June 1631.^[1][2][3][4]

Research Notes

Royal Ancestors

Through her father Thomas Melford :
Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor^[9] - 26th great grandfather.
William I, "The Conqueror", King of England^[10] - 16th great grandfather.
Henry II, King of England^[11] - 13th great grandfather.
Philippe IV, King of France ^[12] - 10th great grandfather.
Edward I, "Longshanks", King of England^[13] - 10th great grandfather.
Edward III, King of England^[1] - 8th great grandfather.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Mahler, Leslie: "Samuel Levis, Quaker Immigrant to Pennsylvania", The Genealogist, Spring 1999, Vol 13, No 1, pg 30-36 (PDF download)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume IV, page 205 NEED 20. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6} 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. See also WikiTree's source page for ‘’Magna Carta Ancestry.’’ Vol. III, p. 422, NEED 16
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Richardson, Douglas. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 3 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition (volume II, page 602 NEED 16 and 17, Google Books). Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for Plantagenet Ancestry.
5. ↑ Nottinghamshire Baptisms Index 1538-1917. Category: Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records. Subcategory: Parish Baptisms. Transcriptions © Nottinghamshire Family History Society. Father's name recorded as Humfrey Need. (See also: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=PRS%2FNOTTSFHS%2FBAP%2F00470973)
6. ↑ Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, volume IV, page 205 NEED 21
7. ↑ Michael Walker, The Need Family of Arnold, Nottinghamshire (London, 1963), Pg 24-25, Appendix 2. This is a carefully documented work with abstracts of pertinent wills at Appendix I.
8. ↑ Michael Walker, The Need Family of Arnold, Nottinghamshire (London, 1963), Pg 25, abstracted from Will, Prerogative Court of York, vol. 24, folio 722.
9. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume V, page 481 Appendix Line B and C. 8th great grandfather of Maud of Flanders, wife of William The Conqueror
10. ↑ Great grandfather of Henry II (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror)
11. ↑ Great grandfather of Edward I (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England)
12. ↑ Maternal grandfather of Edward III of England (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_IV_of_France)
13. ↑ Grandfather of Edward III (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_I_of_England)

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was reviewed/approved for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 1 February 2020.

Mary (Melford) Need appears in a Richardson-documented trail from from the Levis/Need Gateway Ancestors (Samuel Levis, Hannah (Levis) Blunston, Sarah (Levis) Bradshaw, Mary Need and Joseph Need) to Magna Carta Surety Barons Hugh le Bigod and Roger le Bigod (vol. II, pages 221-223 NEED). This profile is also in trails identified by the Magna Carta Project from the Levis/Need Gateways to surety barons Saher de Quincy, John de Lacy, Gilbert de Clare, Richard de Clare and John Fitz Robert. These trails were developed as part of the Samuel Levis trail to the Bigods by John Sigh and were badged in February 2020 by Michael Cayley. The trails can be seen in the Magna Carta Trails sections in the profiles of Samuel Levis and Mary Need.

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".