FitzHugh, Melton, Constable and Berkeley Family Research

Profile manager: Cynthia Melton [send private message]

There has been a Milton/Melton pedigree online for several decades. The pedigree is unsourced. I have been sourcing the pedigree for over forty years. The Milton/Meltons who lived during the Reformation period of English history branched off from the de Melton family of Yorkshire during the time of the War of the Roses.

Thomas Richard Milton [Milton-45]

Thomas Milton was the second son of John Melton, Esq. [Melton-69] and Margery FitzHugh [FitzHugh-418]. The WikiTree ID for Thomas Milton is [Milton-45]. His profile name is Thomas Richard Milton. He has been called Thomas and also Richard, so his name became Thomas Richard in the old Milton pedigree.

Thomas is said to have been born about 1455 and died about 1515. He is said to have married Joan. Some researchers identify her as Joan Ryse. Thomas is said to have had three children: Mary b. 1479, William b. 1484 and Richard b. 1485. William, or his descendants, are said to have come to Virginia.

Richard Milton [Milton-41].

Richard is said to have married twice. His first wife was the widow Foxe, whose son was Rev. John Foxe, the Martyrologist, who wrote Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. John Foxe dedicated the book An Instruccyon of Christian Fayth to his stepfather, Richard Milton, stating, “With every mark of affection”. Source: Dictionary of National Biography. By Stephen, Leslie, Sir, 1832-1904. Publication date 1885-1900. Publisher New York Macmillan. Volume 20. Page 141. Foxe (Accessed 10 March 2024)

Richard Milton and the widow Foxe had a son, Henry Milton [Milton-50]. Henry is not linked to his father, Richard Milton, in WikiTree.

Margery Fitzhugh

Margery Fitzhugh [FitzHugh-418], the mother of Thomas [Richard] Milton, was born to Sir William Fitzhugh [Fitzhugh-319], the 4th Baron Ravensworth, and his wife Margery Willoughby. Ravensworth Castle, Yorkshire, England was the ancestral home of the Fitzhugh family.

Margery’s WikiTree ID is [Fitzhugh-418]. Her date of birth is not estimated on her profile nor her date of marriage. Her husband, John Melton, Esq. [Melton-69], was born about 1435, therefore we can estimate Margery’s birth to be about 1437, or two years after the birth of her husband.

Margery was probably born at Ravensworth Castle, the ancestral home of the Fitzhugh family. She had six sisters and one brother, Henry, who was the heir of the Fitzhugh estate.

Margery’s brother, Henry Fitzhugh, 5th Baron Fitzhugh [Fitzhugh-447] married Lady Alice Neville. Their daughter, Elizabeth, married William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal and, from this marriage, Elizabeth was the mother of Sir Thomas Parr and paternal grandmother of Queen consort and last wife of Henry VIII, Catherine Parr.

Margery Fitzhugh, married John Melton, Esq. [Melton-69] of Aston, Yorkshire, England about 1443, and settled in Swine, Holderness, Yorkshire, England. John’s father and second wife, Cecile Mainwaring, were living at the family manor in Aston, Yorkshire. The Swine estate came to the Melton family through John’s mother, Elizabeth Hilton. Source: The History of Yorkshire by Harrison, George, fl. 1817 Publication date 1885 Publisher London: Printed by Hazell, Watson, and Viney. Fitzhugh (Accessed 13 February 2024)

Margery’s sister, Lora Fitzhugh, [Fitzhugh-409] married Sir John Constable of Halsham in 1449 and settled in Halsham, Yorkshire, England.

Margery Fitzhugh, her brother and five married sisters were married and settled before the War of the Roses began, which commenced in 1455 and ended in 1487.

Margery Fitzhugh, John Melton, Esq. and son, Thomas Milton.

Margery and her husband, John Melton, Esq. had two sons. A translation of the epitaph on John’s gravestone, within the Chantry of Swine Church in Holderness, England, is as follows:

" The splendour of honour, here lies a man of noble family, he was called John Melton Esquire, and is now blessed: he was son and heir of John Melton, knight: he was beloved by all men, thanks to thee, O Christ! and he married a wife called Margery, the much loved daughter of William Lord Fitzhugh; between them they had two amiable children. He died in 1458 on the blessed 23rd day of April. To whom, I pray Almighty God, be salvation, Amen."

Source: A history of the church and priory of Swine in Holderness. Author: Thomas Thompson Publisher: London, J. Nichols. 1824. Melton (Accessed 17 February 2024)

The names of their sons are not inscribed on the gravestone but other documentation reveals that the eldest son, John Melton, was born 02 Feb 1455 at Swine, Holderness, Yorkshire, England.

On 4 May 1455, John, 7th Lord Lucy and his wife Elizabeth transferred the Manor of Towton and land in Towton, Oustwyk and Catwick to their grandson, John de Melton, Esq. and his wife Margery Fitzhugh, whose son John de Melton had been born on 02 Feb 1455. Source: https://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/fines/abstracts/CP_25_1_281_161.shtml

John Melton, Esq. died on 23 Apr 1458 v.p. (vita patris. During the life of the father) The year John died, the Lancastrian King Henry VI, son of King Henry V, was on the throne of England. King Henry VI reined between 1422-1461 and 1470-1471.

John Melton, Esq. of Church Fenton, son of Sir John Melton of Aston by Sheffield was attained in 1459. The land held by John Melton was taken back into control of the king and Margery had to live on whatever property she owned herself. Source: Wars of the Roses A Gazetteer. Vol. 2. By Michael Ryan Jones. Publisher: Bob Prichard 2018. Page 526.

John Melton, of Aston, Yorks, Bramley, Staff., and Aissheton, Lanc., Esq., and Margaret his wife received a pardon from King Henry VIII on 20 May 1509-1510. Source: Henry VIII: Pardon Roll, Part 3', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 1, 1509-1514, ed. J S Brewer (London, 1920), pp. 234-256. British History Online John Melton (accessed 20 January 2024).

After the attainder in 1459, Margery had to survive on her personal property and other resources, until the pardon in 1509-1510, a period of 51 years. Margery is said to have died after 1513. Her elder son, John, succeeded to the Melton estate after the death of his grandfather in 1474 and died 11 Jul 1510.

Widow Margery FitzHugh Melton, as a member of the Fitzhugh family, could draw on the resources of her powerful family during the time of her widowhood.

Margery Fitzhugh and Sir Marmaduke Constable

Margery Fitzhugh is said to have married Sir Marmaduke Constable [Constable-43], who had a second wife, Joyce Stafford [Stafford-15].

Source: Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, with additions. By Dugdale, William, Sir, 1605-1686; Clay, John William, 1838-1918, ed. Publication date 1899. Publisher Exeter: W. Pollard & Co. Volume 2. Page 289. [1]

Margery is said to be the first wife of Sir Marmaduke Constable [Constable-43] who married his wife Joyce Stafford in about 1473. The birthdates of Marmaduke and Joyce are not established but the couple would have been in their early twenties. There is no room in this timeline for Marmaduke to have married Margery Fitzhugh, as his first wife. Margery was widowed in 1458 and would have been free to remarry but Joyce Stafford died around 1500, so Marmaduke was not eligible for a second marriage until 1500. If Margery was the second wife of Marmaduke, there would have been time for Margery to marry after the death of John Melton and during the time she was raising her two sons. Margery is a generation older than Marmaduke.

IPM of Sir William Constable [Constable-179] Source: Fenwick Allied Ancestry: Ancestry of Thomas Fenwick of Sussex County, Delaware By Edwin Jaquett Sellers Melton (Accessed 20 January 2024)

Note: Sir William Constable [Constable-179] is the eldest son of Robert Constable and Agnes Wentworth. Sir Marmaduke Constable [Constable-43] was the second son of Robert and Agnes. Therefore, Margery Fitzhugh Melton married the second son of William Constable, however, the feoffee property arrangement of Margery and her two sons was contracted with William, the eldest son of William and Agnes.

Page 41 March 14, 1528, administration of the goods of Sir William Constable [Constable-179], late of Carethorp, York Diocese, Knight, deceased, were granted to Lady Joan Constable, the widow, and Marmaduke Constable, son of the said decedent ( Dickering Act Book; York. Arch. Soc., Rec. Ser., Vol. xi, Appendix). Sir William Constable was buried at Rudston, in Dickering Wapentake, South of and adjoining Holderness Wapentake (Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of England).

16 April, 19 Henry VIII [1528], an inquisition post mortem was held at Hornsea, Co. of York, upon the estate of Sir William Constable [Constable-179], Senior, Knight, in which it was found that he did not possess any manors or manorial rights; that Thomas Fairfax, of Walton, Arminger, conveyed 20 messuages, 300 acres of land, 100 acres of meadow, 40 acres pasture, 10 acres wood, and 20 shillings rent in Carethorp, Thorp, Rudstan Carr and Gransmoor to Sir William Constable 6 May, 5 Henry VIII [1514]; that afterwards Marmaduke Constable, Arminger, Robert Constable, Arminger, and William Constable, Junior, Arminger, recovered said lands of Thomas Fairfax 4 July , 5 Henry VIII , and became seized to the use of the said Sir William Constable; that Nicholas Fairfax, Arminger, conveyed 1 messuage, 40 acres meadow, 10 acres pasture and 10 acres pasture in Bempton to said Sir William Constable the 14 Sep., 14 Henry VIII [1523]; that afterwards William Eure, Knight, and the said Sir William Constable recovered from said Nicholas Fairfax said lands the 12 Feb., 13 Henry VIII [1522], and became seized to the use of the said Sir William Constable and his heirs; that the said Sir William Constable afterwards died and the said William Eure survived him and still did to the use aforesaid; that afterwards the said Sir William Constable, 19 Feb. 1506 the use of his heirs; that the said Sir William Constable died siezed of 1 messuage, 4 bovats meadow, 6 acres pasture in Thorp, 30 messuages, bequeathed his interests in Carethorp, Bempton, Rudston Carr and Gransmore to the use of Johanna Constable his wife for life and after her death to, 12 bovats pasture in Killom, I caracute, 30 bovats pasture in Driffeld, I messuage 5 bovats of pasture in Thweng, I messuage, 30 bovats pasture in Thornthorp joining Kirkham, I messuage, 6 bovats pasture in Wyverthorp, I messuage, 60 acres pasture, 40 acres pasture, 40 acres pasture, 200 acres meadow, 20 acres wood in Kirkeby Moresid, Fadmore and Gillemore; that so seized, by deed of 23.

Oct., 13 Henry [Page 42] VIII [1522], he enfeoffed William Melton (Note: William Melton is the son of Thomas Milton b. 1482 second son of Margaret Fitzhugh Melton Constable), Marmaduke Constable, of Evryngham, Knight [1480-1545] [Constable-13], (Note: Marmaduke Constable, of Evryngham [Constable-13] is the son of Marmaduke Constable and Joyce Stafford, of whom Margaret Fitzhugh Melton Constable is said to be his second wife) Edward Roos, of Routh, Arminger, William Levynyng, gent., and John Dobson in aforesaid lands in Thweng, Thorp, Killom, Weveerthorp, Driffeld-sup-le-Wold, Kirkeby Moresed, Fadmore, Gillemore and Thorn Thorp joining Kirklom; that afterwards the said Sir William Constable constituted the aforesaid William Melton feoffee of said lands to the use of Marmaduke Constable and Roger Constable his sons jointly for each of their lives and after the life of each to the use of the right heirs of the said Sir William Constable; that the messuages in Carethorp and 4 caracutes of pasture in the fields of Carethorp were held of the Chapter of St. Peter at York; that the 4 caracutes of pasture in Carethorp were held of the Abbot of St. Mary's near the walls of the City of York; that the 6 bovats of pasture in Carethorp were held of the Monastery and that all the said messuages, caracutes, pastures and bovats in Carethorp rendered the annyal rent of £ 60 ; that the lands in Bempton were held of Lord Neville, Earl of Westmoreland; that the land in Thorp was held of Menyll Fee; that the lands in Killom were held of John Mellon, Arminger (Note: Eldest son of Margaret Fitzhugh and John Melton, Esq,); that the lands in Dreffeld were held of the Chapter of St. Peter at York; that the lands in Thweng were held of Lord Lumley as of the manor of Thweng; that the lands in Weverthorp were held of Henry , Earl of Cumberland ; that the lands in Thornthorp joining Kirkeham were held of Thomas Melton (Note: Second son of Margaret Fitzhugh and John Melton, Esq.) as of the manor of Edilthorp; that the lands in Kirkeby Moresid, Fadmore , and Gillmore were held of the Earl of Westmoreland as of the manor of Kirkby Moresid; that the lands in Rudstan Carr were held of St. Mary's at York; that the lands in Gransmore were held of .... Gaunt; that the said Sir William Constable died 16 July, 19 Henry VIII, and that John Constable, Arminger, was found next of blood and heir, viz son and heir of Robert Constable, Arminger, deceased, son of said Sir William Constable, aged 22 years and more (Chancery Inquisitions Post Mortem, Series II, Vol. 48, No. 91. Public Record Office, London).

The feoffee arrangement continued through John Constable [Constable-155], son of Marmaduke and Joan Stafford Constable and was mentioned in his IPM in 1543.

Page 47 10 August , 34 Henry VIII [1543] , an inquisition post mortem was held at York upon the estate of John Constable [Constable-155], Arminger, in which it was found that he was seized of 20 messuages , 300 acres land, 100 acres meadow, 40 acres pasture, 10 acres woods and 20 shillings rent in Carethorpe, Thorpe, Rudston Carr and Gransmore; I messuage, 40 acres land, 10 acres meadow, 10 acres pasture in Benton; 200 acres land, 200 acres pasture, 100 acres meadow in Twheyng, Thorpe, Kyllom, Wevthorpe, Driffeld on-the-York Wold, Kyrkbymoresyd, Fadmore, Gellymore and Thornethorpe joining Kyrkam after the death of Marmaduke and Roger Constable; that he was seized of the Manor of Worsall; 4 caracutes of land in the fields of Carethorpe which he held of the Chapter of St. Peter; 4 caracutes in Carethorpe held of the Abbey of St. Mary joining the walls of the City of York; 6 caracutes in Carethorpe held of the Monastery; lands in Benton held of Lord Neville; 4 bovats in Thorpe held of Memill Fee; land in Kyllom held of John Melton as of the manor of Killome; lands in Dreffeld held of the Chapter of St. Peter's at York; land in Thewyng held of Lord Lumley as of the manor of Thewyng; land in Weverthorpe held of Henry, Earl of Cumberland, as of the manor of Ŵyverthorpe; land in Thornelthorpe held of Thomas Melton as of the manor of Edylthorpe; land in Kyrkbymoresyd, Fadmore and Gillemore held of the Earl of Westmoreland as of the manor of Kyrkbymoresyd; land in Rudston Carr held of the King by the Abbey of St. Mary; land in Graunsmore held of .... Gaunt; that John Constable died 10 April, 33 Henry VIII, and that Francis Constable was his brother and heir aged 22 years and more (Chancery Inquisitions Post Mortem, Series II, Vol. 65, No. 79. Public Record Office, London). Source: Fenwick Allied Ancestry: Ancestry of Thomas Fenwick of Sussex County, Delaware. By Edwin Jaquett Sellers. Page 41. Melton (Accessed 20 January 2024)

The Melton, Constable, Berkeley Connection.

Sir Marmaduke Constable [Constable-43], and wife, Joyce Stafford [Stafford-15] had a daughter, Eleanor [Constable-25] who married Thomas Berkeley [Berkeley-2], 5th Baron Berkeley of Gloucester, England. Margery Fitzhugh Melton Constable, as Marmaduke’s second wife, was related to the Berkeley family by marriage and Margery and her sons John and Thomas, would have no problem settling in Gloucestershire during her widowhood, opening the door for her descendant through Thomas to be close to the Berkeley family and to be selected to immigrate to Virginia.

The following link is a Free Space Page created for research on the Fitzhugh, Melton, Constable and Berkeley families. [2] I am not certified to add to pre-1500 profiles, so I am bringing this research to the attention of the current profile managers to evaluate and integrate into the current profiles. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by private message.

Best Regards, Cynthia Bayer Melton Bayer-1265

This FSP will be linked to the following profiles:

Margery FitzHugh [FitzHugh-418] John Melton, Esq. [Melton-69] Thomas Richard Milton [Milton-45] Richard Milton [Milton-41] Sir William Constable [Constable-179] John Constable [Constable-155] Sir Marmaduke Constable [Constable-43] Joyce Stafford [Stafford-15] Henry Milton [Milton-50]

Richard Milton; yeoman of the chamber

About the time of Thomas Richard Milton, Richard Milton, was yeoman of the chamber in the time of Edward IV of England who reigned from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until he died in 1483.

Calendar of the Patent Rolls: Edward IV-Richard III. By Great Britain. Public Record Office 9 Edward IV - Part 2 Page 179 HathiTrust. Richard Milton (Accessed 21 April 2024)

November 11, 1469. Westminster. Grant for life to Richard Milton of the office of parker of the king’s parks of Assheley and Guddosbere, parcel of the manor and borough of Tyverton, co. Devon, in the king’s hands by the forfeiture of Thomas Courteney, last earl of Devon, attainted of high treason by an act in Parliament at Westminster, 1 Edward 1V. and because Walter Moyle, justice of the Bench, Baldwin Fulford, knight, and others were seised of the same in their demesne as of fee to the use of the said earl for his life; and grant to him for life of wages of 611 daily from the issues of the said manor or borough, with all other profits.

Calendar of the Patent Rolls: Edward IV-Richard III. By Great Britain. Public Record Office 9 Edward IV - Part 2 Page 338 HathiTrust Milton (Accessed 22 April 2024) 25 December 1472. Westminster.

Appointment of Roger Kelsale, yeoman of the crown, to take carpenters Westminster called whelers' and 'cartwrightes and other carpenters, stone-cutters, smiths, plumbers, bowmakers, boltmakers and other workmen for the works of the king's ordnance and bombards, 'colverynes,' 'fowlers, serpentynes' and other canons and powder, sulphur, saltpetre, iron, stone, lead and other necessaries for them, crossbows and bolts for them, arrows, bowstaves,' "bowstringes,' lances, gley ves' and hammers and other necessaries for the ordnance and carriage for the same and horses called 'hakneys' and ships and other vessels. " By K. The like of the king's servant Richard Milton; yeoman of the chamber.

A yeoman-of-the-chamber is an obsolete term for a servant in a royal household who had access to the bedchamber. During the reign of King Edward III, there were two groups of yeomen: yeomen of the King's Chamber and yeomen of the Offices. Yeomen of the King's Chamber were members of noble families who only waited on the King, while yeomen of the Offices were commoners who performed similar duties for other household residents and guests. Yeoman is an early term that refers to a servant or attendant in a late Medieval English royal or noble household. Yeomen were usually of higher rank in the household hierarchy, reflecting the feudal society in which they lived. In English history, a yeoman was a class intermediate between the gentry and the laborers. They were usually landholders but could also be retainers, guards, attendants, or subordinate officials. From Wikipedia.

C. D. Szaro states in his Master’s Thesis, regarding this entry into the Patent Rolls of December 25, 1472: “Again, the records show the existence of a robust central administration which did not diminish in strength or importance during the civil war. The Crown continued to effectively mobilize ordnance and manpower through the use of royal officials and commissioners. The impressment of laborers and craftsmen was an essential aspect of this process. There are no instances of large-scale defiance to these demands recorded within the patent rolls, which suggests that the Crown could still expect obedience from its subjects. Additionally, the records from this period show that numerous individuals were appointed to a variety of offices related to the production and maintenance of arms and ammunition. The power of the Crown was still strong. The mobilization of arms for expeditionary action required even more administrative activity. Because Edward IV’s preparations in the early 1470s were so extensive, there is considerable 309 Ibid., 85. 310 Ibid., 23. 311 Ibid., 69. 312 Ibid., 52-53. 67 information about mobilizing men and materiel for foreign service in the patent rolls for that period. An entry dated December 25, 1472, reads as follows:” Szaro, Cory Daniel, "Mobilization and the Power of the English Crown During the Wars of the Roses" (2022). Master's Theses and Capstones. 1577. Page 66. [3] 1483

Calendar of the Patent Rolls Preserved in the Public Record Office: Edward IV [Henry VI, Edward V, Richard III] A. D. 1461-[1485] Prepared Under the Superintendence of the Deputy Keeper of the Records, Volume 3 page 336 Great Britain. Public Record Office. Jan 1901 · Richard Milton (Accessed 21 April 2024)

February 15, 1483. Westminster. Grant for life to Richard Milton and John Hays of the office of parker of the king's parks of Aissheley and Goddesbear, parcel of the manor and borough of Tiverton, co. Devon, and 6d. daily from the issues of the said manor and borough with all other profits and the herbage of the parks, in lieu of, a grant to the said Richard by letters patent dated 11 November, 9 Edward IV, surrendered. By K.

Following is information on Ashley Park mentioned in the Calendar of Patent Rolls.

“In addition to the portions of Pitt, Clare, Tidcombe, and Priors, there is a fifth division called "All fours," a portion of which comprehends Ashley Park, containing about 621 acres, and Castle Barton, about 160 acres. These lands anciently formed the deer park, and Home Park, or Demesne Estate, belonging to the Castle, which in earlier days was the principal residence of the Earls of Devon. They are subject to a modus, which has always borne the singular title of Buck and Doe money, being doubtless the equivalent for an annual presentation of a Buck and Doe to each of the Rectors. When these parks were destroyed, (which Cleaveland, in his history of the Courtenay family, ascribed to Henry 8th, acting under the advice of Sir Richard Pollard, Kt. of St. John's, who says," the great park of Okehampton, Tiverton park, and all the parks belonging to the Earls of Devon, were destroyed, by the King, acting on the advice of Sir Richard Pollard, an act which his Majesty is said to have afterwards much regretted, ") this modus was doubtless formed; as the Buck and Doe could no longer be given, an annual payment of the 50s. per annum, or 12s. 6d. to each Rector, for Ashley Park, and 30s. or 7s. 6d. to each, for Castle Barton, appears to have been paid as early as 1602. In what way these parks were destroyed is now impossible to say, (that is, if the account be true), probably little more than getting rid of the deer, felling the timber, and making some partial divisions; for it appears by a deed still existing, bearing date, 2nd February 1624, that one - eighth part of the "disparked park called Ashley Park," was, a short time previous to this date, enclosed by Roger Giffard.)

The History of Tiverton, Volume 2 By William HARDING (Lieut.-Colonel.) The History of Tiverton. Book IV. Antiquities, Public Buildings, Etc., page 30 [4]