taf, Thank you...you've provided much-needed insights, as always. In trying to learn so many aspects at once, I forgot that manorial records are quite limited. Without a comprehensive (or even basic) knowledge of the history of a given period -- and a working knowledge of records, how they were created, and how they've made their way to various repositories -- it's tricky.
I didn't start with parish records in this case because my subject FitzRandolph ancestors lived and died several decades before most of the registers start; I wasn't sure -- for the mid-15th to mid-16th centuries -- what another sensible starting point might be. Any suggestions?
My John FitzRandolph, d. prob before 1516, was presumed to have been the third or fourth son of his parents; John's son, Christopher, had a marriage arranged by John's presumed brother -- Chris "parson" -- who had been "sent to that living" in a Nottinghamshire parish, from North Yorkshire, in 1490...John and Chris parson's presumed uncle J. Conyers held the advowson. While I've had a little luck researching the parson, his brother -- direct ancestor, John -- has proven completely elusive. Maybe, as you said, he'd gone to university somewhere, or to London (or York, maybe?), worked there or met and married, and even died there? Later, John's brother the parson arranged a marriage in Notts for John's son? So this might have been a good example of what you were explaining: a born-in-Yorkshire uncle who placed his parson nephew in a Notts parish, and that nephew arranging a marriage for his own nephew in Notts/Derby.
Sounds like I need to look into where younger sons in almost any county might have gone to university (in addition to Oxford, Cambridge?), and which cities they might have gone to for work (in addition to London).
I also don't know the names of at least two wives of subject FitzRandolphs. I have no idea how far Mr. Coddington looked into this in trying to solve the gap in this pedigree. In his notes to FitzRandolph pedigree in "Magna Carta Sureties," he says that wife of Christopher FitzRandolph (d. 1588) had pre-deceased her husband and wasn't known, but this appears to be an error: Chris's wife IS mentioned in his will, but her name is not given. He was buried, I think, at St. Mary Magdalene in Sutton-in-Ashfield, so she is likely there, too...Maybe I can find something.
Thanks again, taf. So appreciate your help.
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