Elizabeth Digges, Daughter of Francis Page of Bedfont & Isabel Wyatt?

[Brad Verity]

I've been entering into my database the ancestry of Elizabeth Caton (1790-1862), second wife of George Stafford-Jerningham, 2nd Baron Stafford. As a result, I've been digging into the Digges family of Chilham Castle, Kent, and later of Bellfield Plantation, York County, Virginia.

Edward Digges of Bellfield Plantation (1621-1675) was Governor of Virginia 1655-1656. He was descended from Edward III through his father Sir Dudley Digges of Chilham Castle (1583-1639). Most sources identify Governor Digges's wife Elizabeth (d. 1691) as daughter of Francis Page of Bedfont, Middlesex (c.1593-1678):
http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00259222&tree=LEO

The only evidence for this seems to be the bequest in the will (dated 5 March 1687, proved 24 February 1692) of Col. John Page of Middle Plantation (1627-1692), son of Francis Page of Bedfont, "Itm. my Will is, that with as convenient speed as may be procured after my decease, eighteen funerall goold rings, one with another, of ye value of twenty shillings each, be given to those severall friends if living (Viz)...to my honored sister Eliz: Diggs":
http://archive.org/stream/genealogyofpagef00page#page/20/mode/2up

The above will is transcribed in the book 'Genealogy of the Page Family in Virginia' (1893) by Richard Channing Moore Page. But the author is not certain if Elizabeth Digges was the blood sister of Col. John Page, or a sister-by-courtesy: "Eliz. Diggs was his sister by courtesy and mother of his daughter-in-law ... Eliz. Diggs (mother of Mary Diggs, wife of Francis?) was either sister by courtesy or else sister who married Diggs":
http://archive.org/stream/genealogyofpagef00page#page/26/mode/2up

Capt. Francis Page of Middle Plantation (1657-1692) was the elder son and heir of Col. John Page. Francis's wife was Mary Digges (c.1658-1691), a daughter of Gov. Edward Digges and his wife Elizabeth. If the Governor's wife Elizabeth was the sister of Col. John Page, then Francis Page and his wife Mary Digges were first cousins. Capt. Francis Page in his will (dated 23 April 1692, proved 24 May 1692) makes "my well beloved brother in law Dudley Diggs" an executor, and leaves mourning rings to the same Dudley Digges and his wife, as well as his late wife's brother William Digges & his wife, and her sister and brother-in-law Anne Digges & William Cole. He doesn't refer to any of them as cousins:
http://archive.org/stream/genealogyofpagef00page#page/44/mode/2up

Back in 2003 on the newsgroup, Fred Olen Ray posted
On Monday, June 23, 2003 5:53:33 PM UTC-7, Fred Olen Ray wrote:
> While delving into the parentage of Colonel John Page of Jamestowne I
> have seen one (or more) sources remarking that Page was a nephew of
> Sir Francis Wyatt (also stating that Henry Tyler was Wyatt's nephew as
> well). I've also seen reference to Francis and brother Hawte Wyatt
> having a sister, Isabelle Wyatt, who was Col. John Page's mother
> ("Americans of Gentle Birth, Vol. 1" Wyatt Genealogy).
[snip]
> Has anyone ever heard of this before?
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/soc.genealogy.medieval/zOfMiZBvr5E/Zm8QpNn-vIAJ

Paul Reed (much missed today on the newsgroup) replied that Ray should seek out 'Genealogy of the Page Family' (1893). The book makes absolutely no mention of Isabel Wyatt as wife or mother of Francis Page of Bedfont. It does quote from H. Barnham Burke, Somerset Herald at the College of Arms, who, at the request of Page descendants, searched in 1889 for the ancestry of Col. John Page of Middle Plantation. Burke discovered that Francis Page of Bedfont was John's father, thanks to the M.I. for Francis in St Mary Church, Bedfont. In the same church is a brass to Matthew Page of Bedfont (1594-1631) and his mother Isabel (d. 9 January 1629/30). Burke surmised that this Matthew was the elder brother of Francis Page, and that they were sons of one John Page of Bedfont (d. 1628, the last year he appears in record) and his wife Isabel.
http://archive.org/stream/genealogyofpagef00page#page/32/mode/2up

Isabel Wyatt as the mother of Col. John Page persists on various online genealogies, one of the most detailed being the following:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=68825033

No doubt her name 'Isabel' originated from the brass in St. Mary Church, Bedfont for Isabel Page (d. 1629/30), and it is chronologically impossible for Isabel, the mother of Francis Page of Bedfont (b. about 1595), to have been the daughter of George Wyatt of Boxley Abbey (1553-1624, descended from Edward III) and his wife Jane Finch (c.1560-1644, descended from Edward I), who were not married until 1582. But could they have had a daughter (named Isabel or not) who married Francis Page of Bedfont, and who was the mother of Col. John Page of Middle Plantation (an ancestor of U.S. President John Tyler, by the way) and (possibly) mother of Elizabeth, wife of Gov. Edward Digges?

In both the 2004 (p. 778, sub Wyatt) and 2011 (p. 532, sub Wyatt) editions of Plantagenet Ancestry, George Wyatt & Jane Finch are assigned five sons and only one daughter, Eleanor Wyatt (d. 1623), wife of John, Lord Finch:
http://books.google.ca/books?id=kjme027UeagC&pg=RA2-PA532&dq=Eleanor+wyatt+Finch&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BF5XUoffDIObjAKW-oCIDw&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Eleanor%20wyatt%20Finch&f=false

But per his bio in ODNB by historian David M. Loades, George Wyatt of Boxley Abbey "married Jane, the daughter of Sir Thomas Finch of Eastwell; they had five sons and four daughters".

Two of these additional daughters died unmarried, Katherine Wyatt (buried 10 May 1608 at All Saints Church, Boxley) and Anne Wyatt (buried 7 September 1611 at All Saints Church, Boxley). Their burial entries have been transcribed at the following website:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/julian.wyatt1/allington.htm

I've not yet uncovered the name & history of the fourth daughter. Prof. Loades also edited 'The Papers of George Wyatt', Royal Historical Society, Camden 4th Series, v (1968). Hopefully he identifies her in that work, which I will try and track down. It's very unlikely that the daughter was the wife of Francis Page of Bedfont, but it's necessary to determine who she was before we can completely put the myth to rest.

If anyone has further information on George Wyatt's daughters, or on Gov. Edward Digges and his wife Elizabeth, please share.

Thanks & Cheers, -----Brad

[tmcla...@gmail.com]

A 1921 publication by the College of William and Mary, "Vital Facts About Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg, College of William and Mary" states that Col John Page was a nephew of Sir Francis Wyatt. Not conclusive, but...
Tom McLain

[Traci T]

I am currently researching the mysterious Isabel Wyatt Page and was wondering if anyone had uncovered anything more on her.

I've looked in ODNB and can't find a bio for George Wyatt, but he is mentioned in the profiles of his father, Sir Thomas, and of his son, Sir Francis. However, I can find no ODNB entry to verify the statement: "George Wyatt of Boxley Abbey 'married Jane, the daughter of Sir Thomas Finch of Eastwell; they had five sons and four daughters.'" Can you direct me where this info can be found so I can cite it?

The Find A Grave memorial responsible for a lot of the misinformation on "Isabel Wyatt" has been removed and the F-G memorial for Col. John Page, her supposed son, no longer lists a mother. See https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7136184/john-page.

The link above to the burial entry transcriptions for George's daughters Katherine and Anne is now broken. But the registers of Boxley are also found on pages 162 and 163 that clearly state George Wyatt had daughters Katherine and Anne: https://archive.org/details/historyofboxleyp00cave/page/162

"The Papers of George Wyatt..." ed. by D. M. Loades 1968 is not available online. Have you had a chance to review it to see if it sheds any light on who the fourth daughter might be?

I'd appreciate any guidance you could offer.
Thank you! Traci

[John Higgins]

I'm surprised that you can't find an ODNB biography for George Wyatt, because there is indeed one. I can access it through my local library which has a subscription to ODNB. Here is the first paragraph of the bio:

Wyatt, George (1553–1624), landowner and writer, was born at Allington Castle, Kent, the youngest son of Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger (b. in or before 1521, d. 1554), soldier, and his wife, Jane (d. in or after 1595), the daughter of Sir William Haute or Hart of Bishopbourne, Kent. The family was impoverished by Sir Thomas's attainder in 1554, and although Jane received lands and an annuity from Queen Mary in 1555 to a total value of about £200 per annum she never remarried, and her sons never obtained their father's or grandfather's place in Kentish society. The family was restored in blood in 1570, by which time George was the only surviving son. He was granted a small property at Wavering by the crown, and entered Gray's Inn in 1571. Although he left a number of writings, none of them was published, and only the skeleton of his career can be reconstructed with certainty. In 1582 he married Jane, the daughter of Sir Thomas Finch of Eastwell; they had five sons and four daughters. It can be deduced from his own words that he saw active service as a soldier, probably in the Low Countries, and was present at the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom in 1588, although in what capacity is not clear. The Mr Wiatt who was muster-master there from 1588 to 1591 was always referred to (and referred to himself) as Thomas, as was the 'Capten Wiatt' who assisted Lord Cobham and Sir Thomas Wilford with the Kentish musters in the late 1590s. George Wyatt had settled down in Kent by 1593, but, as he complained to Lord Cobham, 'mine estate forceth me to retire myself' (Papers, 31). By 1618 he had at last inherited his mother's properties at Boxley and Southfleet, and in 1622 he recovered his family's possession of Boxley Abbey. He died there in August 1624 and was buried in the parish church. His wife survived him by twenty years, dying about 1644 at the age of over eighty.
[END QUOTE}

"The Papers of George Wyatt..." ed. by D. M. Loades 1968 is almost certainly the main source for the bio, as Loades is the author of the ODNB bio. The book is widely available in academic libraries in the US, according to Worldcat. If your local library has an interlibrary loan service, you should be able to get a copy that way.

[Traci T]

Thank you so much!! I was looking at the Dictionary of National Biography (published by Oxford Univ. Press), not ODNB. Embarrassed...

My next step will be to look at getting "The Papers of George Wyatt" via my local library. I will post what I find. Thanks again!

[wjhonson]

On Thursday, November 7, 2019 at 5:06:57 PM UTC-8, Traci T wrote:
> Thank you so much!! I was looking at the Dictionary of National Biography (published by Oxford Univ. Press), not ODNB. Embarrassed...
>
> My next step will be to look at getting "The Papers of George Wyatt" via my local library. I will post what I find. Thanks again!

You could buy a copy for $27

https://www.amazon.com/Papers-George-Wyatt-D-Loades/dp/0901050016

[John Higgins]

I’ve recently obtained a copy of “The Papers of George Wyatt” (D. M. Loades, ed. 1968) via inter-library loan. To quickly answer the issue raised in this thread, the book does NOT mention an Isabel among the children of George Wyatt and Ann Finch. Nor does it mention any member of a Page family (the family which the supposed Isabel Wyatt is supposed to have married).

The book is based on the George Wyatt MSS collection, owned by the Earl of Romney (eventual heir to the Wyatt family) and housed in the British Museum (at least as of 1968). Among other things (notably the writings of George Wyatt), the collection includes various notes and other materials on the Wyatt family collected by Richard Wyatt (d. 1753), the last surviving member of the family. Based on these papers, Loades says that George Wyatt and Anne Finch had (besides five sons) four daughters: 1) an unnamed daughter who probably died young; 2) Catherine (d. 1608); 3) Eleanor (d. 1623), wife of John Finch; 4) Anne (d. 1611).

The existence of the unnamed elder daughter is inferred by Loades from comments about the other daughters in the Wyatt papers. Anne is described as the “youngest daughter”, and Eleanor as the “third” daughter. So (in Loades’ words) ”presumably there was another [daughter] in addition to Catherine”; i.e., either before or after Catherine. Loades also says that this unnamed daughter “seems to have died in infancy before 1600”, but I can’t see what the basis is for this statement.

It may be tempting for some eager genealogist to identify this unnamed daughter as Isabel, wife of Francis Page of Bedfont, but I can see no support for this at present.

[Traci T]

Thank you so much for sharing this information!

[John Higgins]

In the post above, I mistakenly said (twice!) that George Wyatt married Ann [or Anne]. In fact her name was Jane Finch.