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Margaret Knolles, wife of Richard Flynte, Gent. [died 1463], and Henry (or Harry) Belknap, Esq. [died 1488]

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Douglas Richardson

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Sep 30, 2014, 4:53:00 PM9/30/14
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Dear Newsgroup ~

In a recent post, I discussed the marital history of Joan Boteler (died 1444), sister of Sir Ralph Boteler, K.G., Lord Sudeley (died 1473). I presented new evidence which proved that Joan Boteler married (1st) Hamon (or Hamond) Belknap (or Bealknap), Esq., of Knelle (in Beckley), Sussex, and (2nd) John Dedham, Knt.

On the death of Joan Boteler's brother, Sir Ralph Boteler, Lord Sudeley in 1473, his heirs were found to be his great-nephew, John Norbury, Knt. (grandson of his sister, Elizabeth Boteler), and his nephew, William Belknap, Esq. (son of his sister, Joan Boteler).

Lord Sudeley's nephew and co-heir, William Belknap, Esq., resided at London and Sentling (in St. Mary Cray), Kent. He served as Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex in 1446-7. William died without issue in 1484, being survived by his younger brother, Henry (or Harry) Belknap, Esq., who took William's place as a co-heir to Lord Sudeley's estates.

Henry (or Harry) Belknap (died 1488) is alleged in secondary sources to have married Margaret Knolles (or Knollys), daughter of Richard Knolles, Knt., by Margaret, daughter of William d'Oyley, of Hughenden, Buckinghamshire. For example, Wotton, English Baronetage 1 (1741): 62 and Betham, Baronetage of England 1 (1801): 68 both identify Margaret, wife of Henry Belknap, as the "daughter of Sir Richard Knowles, Knt." Dallaway, Hist. of the Western Div. of Sussex 2(2) (1830): 77 similarly identifies Margaret as the "daughter of sir Rd. Knolles." While this may be true, the only evidence I know of Margaret's parentage is a miscellaneous pedigree included in the published Visitations of Essex which reads as follows:

"Henry Belknap. = Margaret d. of Ric...." END OF QUOTE.

Reference: Hawley et al., Vis. of Essex 1552, 1558, 1570, 1612 & 1634 2 (H.S.P. 14) (1879): 563-565 (Misc. Essex Peds.) (Cooke ped.).

As we can see, the last name of Margaret Belknap's father, Richard, is omitted from the pedigree. And, as best as I can determine, there is no reliable pedigree of the Knolles family in print that addresses this issue.

Be that as it may, I recently located a Common Pleas lawsuit which proves that Margaret, wife of Henry Belknap, was previously married to Richard Flynte. An abstract of the lawsuit is presented below.

In 1465 Henry Belknap and his wife, Margaret, widow and executrix of Richard Flynte, sued John Patewyn, of Bourhenton, Somerset, husbandman, and John Sherard, of East Chinnock, Somerset, husbandman, in the Court of Common Pleas regarding a debt of £20.

Reference: Court of Common Pleas, CP40/814, image 726f (available at http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT2/E4/CP40no814/aCP40no814fronts/IMG_0726.htm).

I believe the above Richard Flynte is the Richard Flynte, Gent., of Somerset and Dorset, who died shortly before 13 May 1463 [Reference: Cal. of Fine Rolls 20 (1949): 94].

If anyone has further information regarding Richard Flynte, I'd very much appreciate hearing from them here on the newsgroup.

I might note that Nicolas, Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York (1830): 177 queries if Margaret, wife of Henry Belknap, might be the same person as Mistress Margaret Belknap who was a lady in attendance on Queen Elizabeth Plantagenet, wife of King Henry VII, in 1502-3. See the following weblink for Nicolas' comments:

https://archive.org/stream/privypurseexpens00nicouoft#page/176/mode/2up

I believe the queen's attendant, Mistress Margaret Belknap, living in 1502-3, was actually the Margaret Belknap, who was the daughter of Henry and Margaret (Knolles) Belknap. She married John Boteler, Esq., of Woodhall Watton (in Watton at Stone), Hertfordshire. She died without issue 18 August 1513.

I've copied below my current file account of Henry (or Harry) Belknap and his wife, Margaret Knolles. For further particulars regarding this family, please see my book, Royal Ancestry [5 volume set], published in 2013.

For interest's sake, the following is a list of the 17th Century New World immigrants that descend from Henry (or Harry) Belknap and his wife, Margaret Knolles.

Dorothy Beresford, Elizabeth Bosvile, Charles Calvert, Matthew Kempe, Mary Johanna Somerset.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah

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16. HENRY (or HARRY) BELKNAP, Esq., of Crofton, Kent, Beccles, Suffolk, Dassett (in Burton Dassett) and Kingswood (in Lapworth), Warwickshire, etc., 3rd son, born about 1419 (aged 10 in 1429). He married before 1465 (date of lawsuit) MARGARET KNOLLES (or KNOLLYS), widow of Richard Flynte, Gent., of Somerset and Dorset (died shortly before 13 May 1463), and allegedly daughter of Richard Knolles, Knt., by Margaret, daughter of William d'Oyley, of Hughenden, Buckinghamshire. They had one son, Edward, Knt., and six daughters, Alice (wife of William Shelley, Knt.), Anne (wife of Robert Wotton, K.G.), Elizabeth (wife of Philip Cooke, Knt.), Mary (wife of Gerard Dannet, Esq.), Griselde (wife of John Caryll), and Margaret (wife of John Boteler, Esq.). In 1465 Henry Belknap and his wife, Margaret, widow and executrix of Richard Flynte, sued John Patewyn, of Bourhenton, Somerset, husbandman, and another in the Court of Common Pleas regarding a debt of £20. In 1484 he was heir to his brother, William Belknap, Esq., by which he inherited the manors of Knelle (in Beckley), Sussex, Sentling (in St. Mary Cray), and Ringwold (in Walmer), Kent. HENRY BELKNAP, Esq., died 3 July 1488. He left a will proved 2 Dec. 1488 (P.C.C. 17 Milles), requesting burial in the Chapel of our Lady at Beckley, Sussex. His widow, Margaret, survived him.

References:

Dugdale, Antiqs. of Warwickshire (1656): 772 (Sudeley-Boteler ped.). Dugdale, Antiqs. of Warwickshire (1730): 521-523. Wotton English Baronetage 1 (1741): 62 (author identifies Margaret, wife of Henry Belknap, as the "daughter of Sir Richard Knowles, Knt."). Betham, Baronetage of England 1 (1801): 68 (author identifies Margaret, wife of Henry Belknap, as the "daughter of Sir Richard Knowles, Knt."). Dallaway, Hist. of the Western Div. of Sussex 2(2) (1830): 76-78 (Shelley ped.). Notes & Queries (1853): 363-364. Herald & Genealogist 8 (1874): 289-302 (re. Knolles fam.). Misc. Gen. et Heraldica 1st Ser. 2 (1876): 333-334. Hawley et al., Vis. of Essex 1552, 1558, 1570, 1612 & 1634 2 (H.S.P. 14) (1879): 563-565 (Misc. Essex Peds.) (Cooke ped.: "Henry Belknap. = Margaret d. of Ric...."). Sussex Arch. Colls. 33 (1883): 170-178. Cal. IPM Henry VII 1 (1898): 126, 170, 182. Leadam, Select Cases Before the King's Council in the Star Chamber (Selden Soc. 16) (1903): 80 (re. Caryll fam.). Crisp, Fragmenta Genealogica 12 (1906): 33-36. Green, Feet of Fines for Somerset 4 (Somerset Rec. Soc. 22) (1906): 144-145. C.C.R. 1435-1441 (1937): 86. C.F.R. 19 (1939): 113-114; 20 (1949): 94. Berkshire Arch. Jour. 44 (1940): 123-127. VCH Warwick 5 (1949): 70. VCH Essex 4 (1956): 243. Reaney & Fitch, Feet of Fines for Essex 4 (1964): 61. VCH Sussex 9 (1973): 144. Ancient Deeds -- Ser. B 3 (List & Index Soc. 113) (1975): B.11765. Ancient Deeds -- Ser. E (List & Index Soc. 181) (1981): 15. Ancient Deeds -- Ser. DD (List & Index Soc. 200) (1983): 251. Baker, Rpts. of Cases by John Caryll 1 (Selden Soc. 115) (1999): xi-xv (biog. of John Caryll). Cal. IPM 23 (2004): 117-119. Court of Common Pleas, CP40/814, image 726f (available at http:// aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT2/E4/CP40no814/aCP40no814fronts/IMG_0726.htm).

Les A Cox

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Oct 4, 2014, 11:40:08 AM10/4/14
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