The CONYERS of Hornby Castle, Yorkshire... before 1400

[David Paul Meyer]

Hello,
The CONYERS of Hornby Castle, co. York were the ancestors of Joan CONYERS wife of John FitzRandolph, Esq. found in the 18th generation in the line from Hugh Capet, King of France, d. 996. (Roberts, Gary Boyd. "The Royal Descents of 500 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States" (Baltimore, 1993), 446.)

Joan was the eldest daughter of Sir Christopher CONYERS b. c. 1380, d. aft. 1462 m. bef. Sep 1415, Ellen b. c. 1399, d. 6 Aug 1444, dau. of Thomas ROLLESTON of Mablethorp, co. Lincoln, Esq. by Beatrice HAULAY his wife. (Frederick Lewis Weis, "The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215...", ed. Walter Lee Sheppard Jr., 4th ed. (Baltimore, 1991), 164:10.)

In my mind there has been a fuzzy area with the next few generations; Is Sir Christopher CONYERS b. c. 1380 the son of Sir John or, perhaps, his brother Christopher? Are these brothers sons of Robert, who, in 1350, did homage to the Abbot and Convent of Whitby, co. York, for the Manor of Sneaton? Was Robert the son of John Conyers by his wife Elizabeth de Aton (Anton)? Did Elizabeth de Aton even exist and, if so, was she the daughter of Sir William de Aton, d. 1388 by his wife Isabel de Percy? (Weis/Sheppard/Faris. "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists..." (Baltimore,1992), 206:34.)

Now... to make matters even more muddled, I find that Sir Christopher CONYERS b. c. 1380 is touted to be the son of a John CONYERS by his wife Margaret St. Quinton! Found on the Internet this, of course, is unaccompanied by any documentation whatsoever.

On another site I find the author has just decided to skip directly to John CONYERS and Elizabeth de Aton as the parents of Sir Christopher CONYERS b. c. 1380. Although John would have been over 60 years old, I suppose this could be true, but again... no documentation!

Another site has this CONYERS line through a bunch of Roberts and Rogers going back to a Roger I CONYERS who accompanied William the Conqueror in 1066... COOL, but do you think it mentions a source? Not!

The St. Quinton connection does seem to be born out by the following quote from the GENUKI, Parish of Hornby, site: "Hornby castle was anciently the lordship and seat of the family of St. Quintin, from whom it passed to the Conyers, and ultimately to the Osbornes." I wonder though... because according to AR 247:27-30 Hornby Castle was in the hands of the de Neville family well into the 14th century and would make the chronology contestable. I personally would be less surprised by a de Neville, rather than a St. Quinton, connection.

This is my dilemma and I would certainly appreciate it if anyone would have some insight or direction that might help me to get this sorted out. Documentation would be nice. :-)
Anything on the ROLLESTON and HAULAY lines would be terrific, also.
Thank you!
Yours truly,

David, on the central coast, California, USA

[Jay Cary]

Here is what I have on Conyers - sources noted

1 Joan Conyers. [1], [2] d. after June 22, 1485.

2 Sir Christopher Conyers of Hornby Castle. [2], [3] b. about 1380. [4] d. after 1462. [4]

3 Ellen Rolleston. [2], [3] b. about 1399. [4]

4 Sir John Conyers of Hornby Castle. [5], [2]

5 Margaret Saint Quinton. [2], [5]

6 Thomas Rolleston. b. Mablethorp, Lincoln, England. [4]

7 Beatrice Haulay. [4] b. Ingleton, York, England.

8 Robert Conyers of Ormesby. [2], [6] d. in 1390.

9 Joan de Melton. [3]

10 Anthony Saint Quinton. [2] d. circa 1400. [5]

11 Margaret Swynow. [2]

16 Robert Conyers. [7]

20 John Saint Quinton. [5]

32 John Conyers of Stubhouse. [7]

40 William Saint Quinton. [5]

Sources

1. Oris Hugh Fitz Randolph, Edward Fitz Randolph Branch Lines, Allied Families, and English and Norman Ancestry, 2nd ed., privately printed, 1980.
2. Visitations of the North, ca 1480-1500, Publications of the Surtee’s Society, #144:92, 116
3. Robert Joseph Cuffman, "The Yorkshire Background of the Boytons of Rowley", The Colonial Genealogist, repr. by Augustan Society, 1988
4. Frederick Lewis Weis, The Magna Charter Sureties, 4th ed. Genealogical Publishing Co., 1991 line 164.
5. William Page, ed., The Victoria History of the Counties of England, (London, Constable, 1906- ). North Riding of York 2:315.
6. Ibid. Durham 3:301; York, North Riding 278.
7. Ibid. Durham 3:301.

[Jay Cary]

I should have noted that additions and corrections are greatly appreciated...

Jay Cary wrote:

> Here is what I have on Conyers - sources noted...<snip>
>