Adam (Francis) Fraunceys (abt. 1325 - 1375)

Born about 1325 in London, England

Husband of Agnes (Champneis) Fraunceys — married 1360 in England

Descendants

Died 4 May 1375 at about age 50 in London, England

Biography

Father Adam Fraunceys^[1] c1295-

Mother Constance

Sir Adam ([born c.1325/6], was a son of another Adam, and is presumed to be a cousin of Simon Fraunceis who was also a mayor. It is said that Simon was "his kinsman and mentor", and Adam Fraunceys and Simon Fraunceys apparently jointly owned a ship, plying between Sluys and Newcastle with fish and possibly wool.^[2][3] By 1339 he was already a merchant of some means.

He was a mercer by trade, also Lord Mayor of London, 1352-1354, Sheriff of Essex & Hertfordshire, Alderman 1352-1375 and a member of Parliament for London 1352-1369.

Adam married (name unknown) and they apparently had several children, who all died young, including Joan and Maud I. For some reason Adam then had three children to Agnes (said to be daughter & coheir of William Champnes of Kent) without marrying her; these being Robert (died between 1362 and 1368), Adam (survived) and Thomas (died in infancy). Adam and Agnes were later (by 1359) married, (presumably made possible because Adam's wife had meantime died), and they had one further child, Maud II (Adam's only surviving legitimate heir).

The connection to the Champneis family is mentioned in the 1574 visitation of Kent, under Sybill (Vol.II page 31).^[4]

In Adam's will, he mentions the provision of two Chantries at Bishopsgate Convent for his own soul, that of his wife Agnes, and those of various other persons, namely: Simon, Adam, Thomas, Peter, Roger, Richard, John, Matilda, Sarah, Margaret and Julian. It is not clear if these are adults or children, but the obvious omission of Constance (his mother's name) does suggest they could have been his various children. However, prayers for the soul of Constance may have been covered by the 1363 bequest.^[5]

Adam died in London on 4 May 1375^[6] and was buried at St Helen's, Bishopsgate. He was survived by his widow, Agnes, who was still living in 1394, his son, Adam, knight of the shire (d. 1417), and daughter, Maud, later countess of Salisbury (d. 1424).^[7]

Spouse: Agnes Champneis (dau. of William Champneis). ^[8] Child: Maude Fraunceys (Francis). Countess of Salisbury.

Note: Major event to Adam and everyone living in London in November of 1348. The Black Death had reached London upwards of 30,000 died.

Sir Adam Francis bio notes: As the elder son of one of the richest and most powerful citizens of mid 14th-century London, Sir Adam Francis was, from birth, sure of both a distinguished place in society and an impressive personal fortune. In common with many leading merchants of the day, Adam Francis the elder had invested a substantial part of his profits in land, and, after a long and successful career, during which he twice became mayor of London and represented the City in at least seven Parliaments, he retired to live on his country estates.2 Between April 1360 and October 1369 he settled the reversion of his newly acquired property in Enfield, Tottenham and Edmonton, Middlesex, and Ruckholt and Cobhams, Essex, upon the young Adam Francis, who obtained formal seisin of his inheritance in May 1375.3 Although most of his father’s holdings in the City had initially been left to him in reversion on the death of his mother, these were in fact conveyed to him by the late mayor’s trustees in the following year, presumably after some arrangements had been reached with the dowager. This legacy made Francis one of the City’s richest landlords, since he had already acquired land and tenements in four London parishes through marriage to Margaret, the widow of Thomas Tuddenham, whose father-in-law had left her heir to most of his property. It is by no means clear if the couple retained all the Tuddenham estates, which came into their hands in 1373, but certain premises, including their home in the parish of St. Michael Bassishaw, remained permanently in their possession.4 We do not know from whom Francis bought or inherited the shops and tenements in the other London parishes of St. John Walbrook, St. Mary Colchurch, St. Andrew Holborn and St. Pancras, which were all either leased out by him or settled on his feoffees before 1405.5 Seven years later his income from property in London alone was assessed at £162 9s.6d. a year. Insufficient evidence has survived upon which to make a similar estimate of his annual revenues from land in the countryside, but it seems that his major holdings there produced a bare minimum of £114 a year (of which at least £92 came from his original inheritance).6 At some point before 1399 he purchased the manor of Moorhall in Writtle, Essex, but no contemporary valuation of it seems to exist. His other principal acquisitions comprised the manor of Eyworth in Bedfordshire and land in Southwark (together worth £22 a year) and property in Old Ford, Middlesex.7

Francis chiefly resided on the manor of Edmonton, and although he played an active part in local government in Essex and Hertfordshire (becoming sheriff in 1392), it was in Middlesex that his chief interests lay. From the time of his first election as a shire knight in November 1380 until his death 37 years later he represented the county in at least eight Parliaments and also spent a long period on the bench. He had been knighted by October 1382, when he obtained royal letters of protection for a journey overseas; but although he cannot have lacked the opportunity for personal advancement he evidently had no ambition to succeed at Court. It is possible that Francis kept up some of his father’s business contacts, for in June 1386 he was robbed of his seal and a considerable sum of money while staying at Burton-on-Humber in Yorkshire.8 On the whole, however, his career was that of a distinguished country gentleman, whose main concern was to avoid the intrigues of political factions and the dangers of financial speculation. As a Member of the Merciless Parliament of February 1388 he joined with the sheriff of London and Middlesex in administering an oath of loyalty to the Lords Appellant, but his election to the Commons of September 1397 suggests that he had by then found it expedient to help destroy those whom he had once supported. A personal connexion with John Montagu, earl of Salisbury, who was one of the counter-Appellants of 1397, may well have secured Sir Adam’s return because of his acceptability to the court party, although there is nothing to suggest that he was on particularly close terms with his brother-in-law. Not once during the 17 years of the earl’s marriage to Francis’s sister, Agnes, do either of the two men appear to have become at all involved in each other’s affairs. On the contrary, Sir Adam’s re-appointment to the Middlesex bench after Salisbury’s execution for high treason in January 1400, his inclusion among the retinue chosen to escort Richard II’s widowed queen to Calais in July 1401 and his summons to two meetings of the great council held shortly afterwards show their relationship to have been less consequential than might be supposed.9

Few of Sir Adam’s activities as a private individual during this period are now on record. October 1391 he paid the last instalment of the 350 marks’ purchase price asked by Sir Oliver Mauleverer* for the marriage of Sir John Basings’s† young son, Thomas, whom he subsequently married to his daughter, Agnes. One year later he received permission from the Crown to make a pilgrimage to Rome, but there is no means of telling if he and his two mounted yeomen ever even set out on the journey. The nature of the transaction whereby Thomas Green of Northamptonshire bound himself, in May 1397, to pay Francis and others the sum of 4,000 marks likewise remains open to conjecture.10 Shortly afterwards, Francis offered sureties of £100 in Chancery on behalf of Robert Newport*, this being the only occasion on which he seems to have performed such a service. Nor, in view of his special position, is he much in evidence as a feoffee-to-uses. The most notable incident to befall Sir Adam after 1400 was, in fact, his dispute with the dowager countess of Hereford over the enclosure of common land in Enfield. Even he was unable to withstand such an adversary, especially as she encouraged the tenants to take the law into their own hands and pull down all his fences.11 Sir Adam’s name was initially included among those to be approached for a royal loan in October 1402, although he was crossed off the list in its final form. At about this time, one John Waleys of London behaved threateningly towards him, being bound over to keep the peace in the following summer.12 Towards the end of his life, which passed without further disruption, Francis was able to arrange extremely lucrative marriages for two of his daughters, Agnes and Elizabeth. After the death of her first husband, Thomas Basings, the former married secondly the wealthy grocer, William Standon* and thirdly William Porter II*, who was then an esquire of the body to Henry of Monmouth. Elizabeth became the wife of the eminent Middlesex landowner (Sir) Thomas Charlton*.13

Although quite advanced in years, Sir Adam attended the Middlesex parliamentary elections of 1407 and 1415, as well as remaining on the bench until his death, which occurred on 23 Apr. 1417. He was buried at the parish church of Edmonton. Besides leaving the customary third of his goods to his widow (on the condition that she should ‘comport herself well and without scandal’), he bequeathed a gift of £20 to his youngest daughter, Thomasina, who had taken the veil.14 A mere five months later Margaret Francis was pardoned for marrying Conrad Ask, esquire, without a royal licence, and obtained custody of the dower which had made her so attractive to suitors. She lived on until July 1445.15

Adam served under Edward III BET. 1352 - 1354

Lord Mayor of London, from 1352 to 1354

Member of Parliament for London, 1352 to 1369; BET. 1352 - 1372, Alderman of London

Sheriff of Essex & Hertfordshire, Alderman from 1352 to 1375

Nickname: Adam Francis Lord Mayor of London

First marriage to , name unknown. All children of that first marriage died. He had 3 sons with Agnes C. out of wedlock, only Sir Adam survived. Once his first wife died, he married Agnes and they had Maud, his only legitimate heir.

custodianship of other children: Adam received guardianship of a number of orphans, some were children of mercers or their wives who had died. These were: 7-years old Thomas son of Thomas de Gartone (June 1346, LBF-142), who had previously been looked after by his mother Idonia, now deceased also; Thomas son of John Coterel, mercer, (July 1349); Simon son of Thomas Leggy (July 1357, though not formally accepted until March 1364-65, LBG-185, when he was 13-years old). Simon claimed his inheritance (November 1371, LBG-289) being then of full-age, i.e. 21; John, Thomasina and Margery, children of John de Bovyndon/Bonyndon (April 1361). Adam Fraunceys jointly with Thomas de Langeton acquired the Manor of Wyke from John de Causton (1st February 1349). Similarly Adam and Thomas acquired pro

Custodianship of other children: Adam received guardianship of a number of orphans, some were children of mercers or their wives who had died. These were: 7-years old Thomas son of Thomas de Gartone (June 1346, LBF-142), who had previously been looked after by his mother Idonia, now deceased also; Thomas son of John Coterel, mercer, (July 1349); Simon son of Thomas Leggy (July 1357, though not formally accepted until March 1364-65, LBG-185, when he was 13-years old). Simon claimed his inheritance (November 1371, LBG-289) being then of full-age, i.e. 21; John, Thomasina and Margery, children of John de Bovyndon/Bonyndon (April 1361). Adam Fraunceys jointly with Thomas de Langeton acquired the Manor of Wyke from John de Causton (1st February 1349). Similarly Adam and Thomas acquired property in Hackney (5th August 1352); Thomas died and Adam then had full possession.

Burial: 14 May 1375, London Saint Helen's Bishopgate, Middlesex, England

Research Notes

See this G2G discussion about the Champneis family. It is the reason why one of the two profiles attached as his wife was detached instead of the profiles being merged:

• Champneis-1 for "Alice Champneis" (retained but given name changed to Agnes)
• Champneis-4 for "Alice Agnes Champneis" (detached and "Agnes" deleted from names)

Sources

1. ↑ Harleian Charters 79.G.38, dated 21st March 1368
2. ↑ see "The Mercery of London"
3. ↑ http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jweber&id=I11812
4. ↑ https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE927666&from=fhd
5. ↑ http://powys.org/pl_tree/ps03/ps03_274.html
6. ↑ Magna Charta Sureties 1215, Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr, 5th Edition, 1999 Page: 17b-18
7. ↑ The History of Parliament, www.historyofparliamentonline.org/ Page: Charlton, Thomas (d. 1445) Text: 1374/5
8. ↑ Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. III, p. 158

• familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L5T4-ZNT
• https://www.geni.com/people/Sir-Adam-Francis-Lord-Mayor-of-London/6000000000796862945

url: https://www.geni.com/people/Sir-Adam-Francis-Lord-Mayor-of-London/6000000000796862945

• Adam Francis, "Find A Grave Index," url: familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGV1-DJQQ

Name: Adam Francis Burial: 1375, Bishopsgate, City of London, Greater London, England Birth Date: 1326 Death Date: 04 May 1375 Affiliate Record Identifier: 184374955 Cemetery: St Helen Churchyard Citation: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QGV1-DJQQ : 14 December 2017), Adam Francis, 1375; Burial, Bishopsgate, City of London, Greater London, England, St Helen Churchyard; citing record ID 184374955, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• history of parliament online - Francis Sir Adam

url: www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/francis-sir-adam-1417

• Maurice Boddy's "Fraunceys" webpage http://mauriceboddy.org.uk/Frauncey.htm

• Tim Powys-Libbe's page on Adam Fraunceys: http://powys.org/pl_tree/ps03/ps03_274.html

• The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant (1910), Cokayne, George Edward (main author) and Vicary Gibbs (added author), (New edition. 13 volumes in 14. London: St. Catherine Press,1910-), vol. 5 p. 210, 355.

• [5th edition, 1999] The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215 (5th edition, 1999), Adams, Arthur, (5th edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1999), FHL book 973 D2aa 1999., p. 22 line 17B:18.

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Acknowledgements

This person was created through the import of Acrossthepond.ged, My Family Tree.ged.

Darrell Parker