Mariota (Stapleton) Musgrave (bef. 1417 - aft. 1472)

Born before 1417 in Edenhall, Cumberland, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 13 Dec 1472 after age 55 in Great Musgrave, Westmorland, England

NOTE: Concerning the doubts about husbands, wives and children in this generation, see the special project page.

Biography

Name

Mariota is the clearest record we have for the name of the sister of Joane, however two later records show a Mary married to a Richard Musgrave, and coincidentally it is these two records which create a conflict between different records.

It seems worth remarking, given the uncertainties, that Brownbill's equation of the names Mariota and Mary is not automatically acceptable.

Birth

Cockayne states that Mary (Mariot) Stapleton was born before 1417 at of Edenhall, Cumberland, England. ^[1] Lewis adds that she was the daughter of William Stapleton, Esq. b. c 1388, d. 26 Aug 1458 and his wife Margaret Vipount1 b. c 1390. ^[2]

Ragg perhaps gives the best lead on evidence for birth years in his Edenhall article.^[3] He points out that in the 1457 or 58 Inquisition Post Mortem (IPM) of William Stapleton, the father of Mariota, she was 55. This implies a birth year of about 1402-3. But it should be noted that he admitted it was hard to read, and also that there are debates about whether this information can be trusted. (See below.) The younger sister, should they have been confused in that IPM, must have been born about 1408-1418.

All the sources cited in this article agree that Mariota and Johane were the coheiresses of William Stapylton, Esq, of Edenhall and Alston, by Margaret de Veteripont his wife, daughter and heiress of Nicholas de Veteripont of Alston, in whose right had among other lands the manor of Edenhall.

The visitation of Yorkshire 1563/4 adds that their father, Sir William Stapleton was "the younger", of Westmoreland. ^[4]

Hale adds that William Stapleton and his Veteripont wife are reflected in a brass image in the chancel of the Edenhall church.^[5] Ragg points out in his Edenhall article that they had clearly married by 1423.^[3]

Mariota's ancesters were several William Stapletons in succession. Some accounts make Joanne's grandfather to be a Brian Stapleton, however, the William Stapletons appear to be associated with Cumberland while the Brian Stapletons appear to be associated with York:

1. William de Stapelton I b. 1314, m. Juliana de Turp,
2. William de Stapelton II, born 1336 (was 26 in 1362), d. Mch 1st, 1380 m. Mariota, dau of William Ritson, widow of Tho. de Alanby. m. bef 1369, d. jan 25th, 1406
3. Willian de Stapelton III, born 1364 (age 16 in 1380), d. 1st July 1432, m. as second wife Mary, widow of Nicholas Viteripont.
4. William Stapleton IV, b. Edenhall 1388, of age 1428, d. 26th Aug 1457, m. Margaret Veteripont or Vipount d. 20 Sep 1468. Parents of Joanna and Mariota or Mary.

First Marriage to William Hilton

Mariota married Sir William Hilton, 7th Lord Hilton, son of Sir Robert Hilton, 6th Lord Hilton and Maud Clifford, circa 20 January 1439. ^[1] Hilton was 7th Lord Hilton b. b 1418, d. 13 Oct 1457. When Hilton died in 1457, they had a son, also William who was aged six, thus born 1451.

There has been controversy as to which sister married William Hilton. John Brownbill ^[6] notes that "many pedigrees gave to Sir Richard Musgrove of Hartley who died in 1464, sons Thomas and Richard, the former of whom married Joan, elder daughter and coheir of William Stapilton of Edenhall, while the latter married her younger sister Mariota or Mary, widow of William Hilton of Hilton in Durham. On the other hand, the inquisition after the death of William Stapilton in 1457 clearly states that Joan was the widow of William Hilton and Mariota the widow of Thomas Musgrave. The inquisition after the death of Margaret Stapilton (1469) seems to have agreed with that of her husband William, but is now almost illegible. The Rev. F. W. Ragg (Transactions, N. s. xiii, 226, was inclined to believe the inquisitions, and consequently made the younger son Richard Musgrave the heir of Edenhall and ancestor of the later Musgraves of that manor. He does not seem to have noticed that the Hiltons would have had a prior claim to the inheritance if Joan had really been the widow of William Hilton." ^[6]

Brownbill asserts that it "is quite certain, however, that the old pedigrees were right for once, and the inquisitions wrong, attributing the wrong husbands to the widowed daughters of William Stapilton. ^[6]

Brownbill notes that William Hilton died in 1457, having a son and heir, also William, only 6 years old. This heir came of age in 1471, and then as “William Hilton, baron of Hilton,” made an agreement with Richard Musgrave the elder and Mary his wife, mother of the said baron, as to Mary’s lands, etc, as his father’s widow. (Surhees, Durham ii,31; Dep Keeper’s Report, xxxv, 118) Richard Musgrave is called “the elder” because his nephew Richard, though head of the family, was younger in years. The Musgrave who married the widow of Hilton was thus living in 1471, but Joan Musgrave was a widow in 1470. It is obvious therefore that Joan was the widow of Thomas Musgrave, and Mary of William Hilton; and Joan’s children, as representing the senior coheir, inherited Edenhall. The pedigree in Transactions N.S. xi, 54, will therefore stand. ^[6]

So in 1471, Mary is listed as the mother of young William Hilton, and Richard Musgrave the elder is identified as Mary's husband.

The CP editors decided to agree with Brownbill and found another record of a couple named Richard and Mary Musgrave. "Moreover, Richard Musgrave and Mary his wife entered the York Guild of Corpus Christi in 14.73 (Surtees: Soc., p. 88)."

Taking the Brownbill approach, when Jefferson writes, "Sir Thomas had issue by Johanna his wife, who was living a widow," he was correct in connecting Thomas with Johanna, but Johanna was perhaps not a widow. If she was the elder daughter and heiress, it would make sense that Mary's sister Joan's family came to possess the Stapleton's manor of Edenhall.

The family which came into possession of Edenhall was that of the second son, Richard Musgrave, and the elder Stapelton daughter, Joan, widow of William Hilton. ^[5] Pedigree

Second Marriage to a Musgrave

After William Hilton's death, and after the death of her father, she apparently married a Musgrave.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, by George Edward Cokayne, Vol. VII, p. 29. Cited by Marlin Lewis (n. d.) Our Royal Titled Noble and Commoner Ancestors. Accessed March 12, 2017. jhd
2. ↑ Mary (Mariot) Stapleton F, #40261, b. before 1417, d. after 13 December 1472. Web.Marlin Lewis (n. d.) Our Royal Titled Noble and Commoner Ancestors. Accessed March 12, 2017. jhd
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Rev. Frederick W. Ragg (1913) The Earlier Owners of Edenhall, TCWAAS, [1]
4. ↑ The Visitations of Yorkshire in the Years 1563 and 1564: Made by William ...edited by Charles Best Norcliffe, page 217
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Article XXI -- Edenhall Church and its Glass. By the Rev. Bernard G. R. Hale, M.A., and Francis Haswell, M.D. Read at the Church, September 6th, 1912. pages 228-233. https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2055-1/dissemination/pdf/Article_Level_Pdf/tcwaas/002/1913/vol13/tcwaas_002_1913_vol13_0023.pdf. Accessed March 10, 2017. jhd
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} John Brownbill, M.A. The Musgrave Pedigree. Addenda Antiquaria, pp. 340-342 http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2055-1/dissemination/pdf/Article_Level_Pdf/tcwaas/002/1929/vol29/tcwaas_002_1929_vol29_0030.pdf. Accessed March 11, 2017. jhd

• Flower, William. The visitation of Yorkshire in the years 1563 and 1564. 1881. Pg. 169. Archive.org. [2]
• Doubleday, H. A. The Complete Peerage Vol-vii. 1929. Pg. 29. Archive.org. [3]
• Surtees Society. Visitations of the North. 1912. Pg. 45. Archive.org. [4]