The Middlemores of Northhamptonshire and Derbyshire

Figure 28  Key Pedigree L.  The Middlemores of Northhamptonshire

 

 

HIS line of Middlemore which we now trace is a cadet branch of Haselwell, being descended from Richard, the second son of Simon Middlemore (19) of Haselwell, The pedigree of this family was recorded at the Visitation of Northamptonshire in 1682.  But they continued in the male line only three generations, and are now extinct.  The elder branch, of which the representation vested in the family of Griffith, ultimately settled at Stanton le Dale, in Derbyshire, where their memory is perpetuated by almshouses, founded by Joseph Middlemore of that place, who died in the year 1703, whilst other members of his family left charitable bequests to Stanton and also to East Farndon in Northamptonshire, We accordingly commence the pedigree with

41. Richard Middlemore, of Whitley, near Coventry, afterwards of De la Pre Northamptonshire, who died about 1633.

Will 6 June, 1631, and names six children, five under age; lands in Derbyshire and in Nuneaton to be sold; proved by his widow Sarah, and his son Robert, 16 December, 1633.

He married Sarah, daughter of Robert Tanfield, of Gayton,
in Northamptonshire, by Dorothy, daughter of Bartholomew Tate, of De la Pre.

Will, 10 September, 1644, as Sarah Mydlemore of Nether Shugborowe, Warwickshire, widow, proved at Northampton by her son Richard, 22 November, 1644; to her son Robert she gave an old silver tankard, to daughter Dorothie a cabinet; to son Richard a silver tankard, bequeathed to her by her brother Tanfielde, to son Richard the "gold ringe wherewith my deare and late deceased hus­band and my self was joined together in the holy order 0f wedlocke "; also because she thought it "a deede of charitie and a work commendable," 20s. to the parish Church where she should depart this life, and 20s. to the poor; to her nephew John Syer, esquire, -my gold Tinge being engraved on the one side 0f the head of the same a dove with an olive branch in his mouth and on the other side a death's head inamyled as a pledge of my love." She also named her four younger children, Dorothie, Elizabeth, Sarah and Richard; her grandchildren Elizabeth Allett, Edward Clarke and Elizabeth Beale.

 

Richard Middlemore and Sarah Tanfield had issue

i. Robert Middlemcre, of whom nest (42).

ii. Dorothy, married Thomas Bale, or Beale, of Nuneaton, CO. Warwick. Their daughter Elizabeth Beale, is named in her grandmother's will, 1644.

iii. Elizabeth, married . . . . Clarke, of Drayton, near Daventry. Her son, Edward Clarke, named in his grandmother's will, 1644.

iv. Sarah, married . . . . Allett or Aylett.          Her daughter Elizabeth Allett, named in grandmother's will, 1644.

v. Richard Middlemore, 0f whom hereafter (45).

vi. Edward Middlemore, living in 1631, being named as under age in his father's will, but not named in his mother's will in 1644, and therefore probably died young.

42. Robert Middlemore, of Stanton by Dale, co.
 Derby.  He was of Balterley in 1638, but of Stanton as early as 1639, when he had a dispute with Gerard Neville about some land he had bought in Hanbeck, Lincolnshire.

He died April, 1660, aged fifty.

Will, dated 8 May, 1658, proved 5 December 1660, -by Randolph Middlemore. To his wife Frances his house at Thornby, Northampton­shire, and one half of the land there, and seven milch cows and one house. To his four younger children, Sarah, Elizabeth, Richard and Joseph,, £300 when twenty-one ; meanwhile they were to be maintained out of the other half of the land at Thornby, and each of his younger sons to have as much money as would bind him to a trade, but not to exceed £50 ; to his sister Deale [sic for Beale], £12; to son Randolph, the residue and his sword and best belt. Wife Frances and son Randolph executors.

He married at Barthomley, Cheshire, 17 March, 1635, Frances, daughter of Ralph Thicknesse, of Balterley, co. Stafford, to be distinguished from his kinsman the Ralph, of London, barber surgeon, son of Thomas Thickness, whose widow, Mary, married as third wife, his uncle, George Middlemore (20), of Haselwell, then of Whittington. She, who was baptized at Betley, 23 December, 1610, survived her husband many years, and was buried at Staunton, 26 April, 1697.

Nuncupative will, 19 April, 1697, in the presence of Henry Courtman, minister of Stanton by Dale ; proved at Lichfield, 8 October, 1697: Inventory valued at ,£204 16s. 6d. Son Randolph £5 ; daughter Sarah Pilkington, £10 ; grand-daughters Sarah and Elizabeth Pilkington, £2 10s. each ; grandson Middlemore Pilkington,,£2 10s. ; godson Henry Pilkington, £2 10s. ; son [? son-in-law] Henry Pilkington, £1 ; daughter [? daughter-in-law, wife of Randolph Middlemore] ; Anna Middlemore £1 ; to Thomas Pilkington, of Worthington, C1 ; daughter [? daughter-in-law] Winifred Middlemore, _£1 ; to daughter Elizabeth Middlemore my linen goods, "intermixed with my sons," she also named Elizabet Osborn and Mr. Barrett; residue to Richard Middlemore, George Middle­more and Elizabeth Middlemore; Richard Middlemore executor. Th inventory of her goods taken 3 May, 1697, was valued at ,£204 16s. 6d.

Robert Middlemore and Frances Thicknesse had issue:

43. i. Randolph Middlemore, of Stanton by Dale, in 1671, but described as of East Farndon, Northamptonshire, in 1682, born about 1639, baptised 15 July, 1638: entered at Inner Temple as Randle Middlemore, of Stanton near Dale, November, 1657, he was living 1682, aged forty-three, when he entered his pedigree at the Heralds' Visitation of North­amptonshire. In 1671 he was of Stanton, when Ralph Thicknesse, of Balterley, Staffordshire, esquire, brought a Chancery suit in respect of the will of Katherine Vint, grandmother of Thicknesse, dated 2o November, 1662, which Middlemore had proved.  Mrs. Vint left the following legacies to the Middlemore family: to Mrs. Frances Middlemore£50,, to Sarah Middlemore, £10, to Elizabeth Middlemore three books and five shillings, and to Frances Middlemore and her two daughters, all her hoods and muffs and £2.

He was buried at Stanton, 18 May, 1697, evidently s.p., and only three weeks after his mother.

 

 He married Anne, daughter and co-heir of Bartholomew Cradock, of East Farndon (who died 1656), by Anne, daughter of William Stanley, alderman of Leicester.

Will as Randolph Middlemore, of Stanton juxta Dale, gent., 7 February, 1694, proved by his widow, Anna, 3 July, 1697. To sister Elizabeth, household goods now in Stanton Hall, late the goods of his father, Robert Middlemore. To his wife Anna, lands in East Farndon, Pildash in Owton and Ipstock, Leicester; to brother Richard, lands in Thornby, Northamptonshire, charged with £150 to his sister Elizabeth Middlemore ; to the poor of East Farndon £40[1] to be invested for coals. Residuary legatee and executrix, wife Anna.

Mrs. Middlemore appears to have been married a second time to Edward Griffith, by whom she had a son, the Rev. John Griffith, D.D., who married Anne, daughter of Richard Middlemore (44), of Stanton by Dale.

ii. Richard Middlemore, of Stanton by Dale, of whom next (44).

iii. Joseph Middlemore, of Stanton by Dale, afterwards of West Hallam, gentleman, born about 1649, being described in the Visitation of Northamptonshire, in 1682, as a bachelor, aged thirty-three.

His will, as Joseph Middlemore, of West Hallam, Derby, gent., dated 3 February, 1698, was proved at Lichfield, 7 June, 1703. To his wife Winnefrede his lands at Wirkes­worth and personalty for life, in default of issue to charitable uses, viz., an Almes house[2] to be built at Stanton juxta Dale, or within six miles, £5 4s. to each object yearly who should be "the most poor and needy that possibly can be chose" by the trustees, viz., Sir Henry Hunlocke, bart., Mr. Cleton, of Normanton, George Gregory, of Nottingham, esquire, and Abel Collings, gent.; "my will is that this shall be no ease nor advantage to the rich."He was buried at Stanton by Dale, 4 February, 1703,
 Married at Snenton[3], Nottinghamshire, 28 April, 1694. Winifred, daughter of John Gregory, of Nottingham, gentleman ; after her husband's death she removed to Nottingham, and according to the request in her will was buried at St. Mary's, 4 January, 1731-2, "in the chancel as near to my relatives as conveniently may be." Her will was dated 8 March, 1725, and proved at York, 13 June, 1732. By it she bequeathed £10to the Charity School in Nottingham, now the High School, which was founded by Agnes Mellers, the widow of the. great Nottingham bell-founder, Richard Mellers, who indeed was ancestor of Winifred Middle­more.  She also gave £10 to be distributed amongst poor widow housekeepers in St. Mary's parish, and mentioned several of the Gregory family.

iv. Sarah, baptized at Stanton by Dale, 19 April, 1640, married 16 April, 1667, at Stanton, Henry Pilkington, of Stanton, esquire, was buried there, 17 November, 1698. She sur­vived, and was buried at Stanton, 3 November, 1702.

They had, as shown in the pedigree opposite (Table M), issue and descendants. The arms of Pilkington are, Argent a cross patonce voided gules.

v. Elizabeth, baptized 21 August, 1642, at Stanton by Dale. She was of Stanton by Dale, spinster, when she made her will.

Will, nuncupative, 21 July 1698, in presence of Sarah Pilkington, Anna Middlemore, Richard Middlemore, and Anne his wife. Proved at Lichfield, 21 October, 1698. To the poor of Stanton, £50, the interest for books for poor people, and schooling for poor children, also £5 to poor for good of their body; to the church of Stanton, £50, interest to the Minister ; nieces Sarah and Elizabeth Pilkington, £50 each ; to brother Joseph, £100, with remainder to nieces; names also Mr. Courtman, and Mr. John Barrett, of Sandiacre.

vi. Katherine, buried at Stanton by Dale, 24 June, 1656.

Figure 29  Table M  The Pilkingtons of Stanton by Dale and Bridgnorth

44. Richard Middlemore, of Stanton by Dale, baptized there in September, 1645, a bachelor, aged thirty-six in 1682, buried at Stanton, 3 April, 1719. Admon. 2 October, 1719, his widow and relict, Anne, renouncing in favour of John Griffith, her "son," i.e., son-in-law.

He married[4], apparently late in life, Anne, daughter of Henry Kayes, of Hopewell, Derbyshire, esquire, sheriff of Derbyshire in 1678, by Sarah Stones, of Hemsworth, in Norton, she was baptized, 1649, and married, 1670.

They had issue, apparently, an only daughter and heiress:

i. Anne, who, as Mrs. Anne Middlemore, married at Stanton, 6 January, 1714-15, Mr. John Griffith, presumably the Rev. John Griffith, D.D., son of Edward Griffith before named, rector of Eckington and Whiston, and prebendary of Canterbury, who was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, A.M., 1722, and S. T. P., 1741, and died 8 March, 1765, aged eighty-seven.

They had issue

i. Middlemore Griffith, clerk, who died 1767, aged forty eight, A.M., St. John's, Cambridge, 1739.

ii. John Griffith, rector of Eckington and Hansworth, A.B., St. John's College, 1739, A.M. 1743. He married  Henrietta Johnson, of Pyrland, who died 20 December, 1795, aged sixty-nine.

iii. Anne, married Marmaduke Carver, of Morthen, esquire. Their grandson, Marmaduke Middleton Carver, Sheriff of Derbyshire, in 1808, changed his surname to Middleton, and the latter's son, John Carver Middleton, in 1821changed his name to Athorpe.

 We now turn to the younger line of the NorthamptonshireMiddlemores.

45. Richard Middlemore, of Gretton, co. Northampton, gentleman [second son of Richard Middlemore (41) and Sarah Tanfield] and of Loddington, in 1637 and 1650.

In 1637 he bought Bushie Close, a grove, and the grounds in Cranford St. Andrew, Northampton, from Nicholas Richardson, of Twynell, and Robert Tanfielde, of the Middle Temple, esquire.

As Richard Middlemore, of Stripton, Northants, gentleman, with Eliza­beth, his wife, and Mary Ellis, her sister, he had a dispute in 1649 with Thomas Chybnall and others respecting the will of their father William Chibnall.

In 1650, he purchased Over Hall in Isham from Godfrey Maydwell and Laurence Maydwell. He also purchased lands in Gretton from Henry Presgrave, of Gretton, yeoman, and in 1654 had a dispute with Presgrave respecting the bonds he gave in payment. In 1658, he, with the Maydwels and others, sold Over Hall and lands in Isham to Christopher Jeffries, of Weldon, and John Evins, of Rushorn, for £1,050 10s.

He married Elizabeth, the eldest daughter and a co-heir of William Chibnall, of Orlingbury, Northants, gentleman. This lady, about 1641, had been engaged to Francis Mattock, of Haddon, Northants, who gave her, his promised wife, various presents of wearing apparel, gloves, rings, etc. While Mr. Mattock was in London she married Richard Middlemore instead, but refused to return the presents, and accordingly Mr. Mattock, in 1650, sued her and her husband for their return. The date of his death has not been ascertained. Richard Middlemore and Elizabeth Chibnall had issue:

i. Francis Middlemore, of Gretton, gentleman, bachelor, aged twenty-three in 1682.

Will, 20 September, 1689, proved 14 December, same year, by Thomas Buckworth. To his sister Sly he gave for. for a ring, and the whole 0f his freehold and copyhold
estates to his brother-in-law Thomas Buckworth and Mary his wife.

He had licence, 20 August, 1689, to marry Ann Dison, of Clerkenwell, widow, both aged "about" twenty-six, but the Visitation of 1682 shows that he at least must have been aged about thirty. The licence was to marry at St. Maryle-Bow, St. Martin's, Ludgate, or St. Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, London.  She probably died shortly after the marriage, for she is not named in his will ; perhaps her maiden name was Buckworth.             The record of the marriage has not been found.  It seems clear that he died s.p.

ii. Elizabeth, married . . . . Fox.

iii. Sarah, married . . . . Harris, of Oundle.

And presumably also

iv. . . . . unmarried in 1682, perhaps married . . . . Sly.

 

Nothing further is known of the descendants of this line of Middlemore, and it is doubtless extinct in the male line.