John Crosby
The Yorkshire village of
Holme upon Spaulding Moor is about 10 miles from the River Homden and 25 miles from the North Sea, about halfway between York and Kingston upon Hull.
John and his siblings were part of the heroic, civic-minded Elizabethan Generation. His father had been part of the pragmatic Picaresque Generation. His first two children, Richard and Ellen, were part of the adaptive Sentimental Generation; his other children were part of the puritanical, idealistic Righteous Generation.
Year by year in the life of John Crosby
The life of John Crosby in its historical context
| Birth of John Crosby | |
| Born: | About 1556 |
| Birthplace: | Holme upon Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England |
| Parents | |
| Father: | Richard Crosby, 1532-1586 (our ancestor) |
| Mother: | Margaret Stennson(?) (our ancestor)(1)
According to William Lander (176 Gieger Rd., Cleveland, TN. 37312, WLander@aol.com): "Prindle [see "Sources" at the bottom of this page] notes that Margaret's maiden name was perhaps Stennson, as she bequeathed clothes to 'Sis (Cecelia?) Stennson, my sister,' but considering Margaret's age and the probable age of a sister of hers, I think it is much more likely--excluding the possibility 'Sis' never married--that Stennson was her [Sis's] married name rather than her maiden name." To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) (buried 20 October 1591, Holme upon Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England) Married before 1556 Probably in Holme upon Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England |
| Siblings | |
| Sister: | Elizabeth Crosby b. about 1558, Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England d. unmarried, without issue; buried 1 February 1586/87 (Her will, proved 30 January 1587/88, named her mother, Margaret, and brothers Thomas, John, and Robert.) |
| Brother: | Thomas Crosby b. about 1560, d. 1597 or later [His wife, Alice, was mentioned in his 1597 will.] |
| Brother: | Robert Crosby bapt. 19 July 1562, Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England buried 7 May 1597, Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England |
| Spouses and children | |
| Wife 1: | No information available |
| Son: | Richard Crosby bapt. 16 May 1580, prob. Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England (died young) |
| Daughter: | Ellen Crosby bapt. 10 November 1582, prob. Holme-upon-Spaulding, Yorkshire, England (died young) |
| Daughter: | Margaret Crosby b. about 1584, prob. Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England d. bet. January and August 1605, unmarried, without issue, Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England |
| Son: | Peter Crosby b. about 1586, prob. Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England (died young) |
| Wife 2: | Jane Webster (our ancestor) (d. prob. before February 1607(2)) Jane's dying stepdaughter Margaret had appointed Jane to administer her estate in August 1605. According to William Lander (176 Gieger Rd., Cleveland, TN. 37312, WLander@aol.com): "Yet 17 months later, in February 1606/07, when her son, Robert, was being assigned as a ward and co-executor of her late husband's estate, there is no mention of her. Less than a month earlier she was conspicuous by her absence of mention in the suit filed Richard Yeoman against her late husband's estate. Had Jane died during that 17 months? Robert was her only child by John Crosby and it would seem improbable that there would be no mention of her in some fashion during these proceedings unless she was dead." To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) Married 31 August 1594 Yorkshire, England |
| Son: | Robert Crosby, 1596-1642 (our ancestor) |
| Other information | |
| Occupation: | Yeoman farmer? |
| Religion: | Probably Church of England or whatever was legal at the time |
| Death of John Crosby | |
| Died: | Between 29 October (date of will)
1604
and 11 January (date of probate)
1605 (age 48) |
| Deathplace: | Holme upon Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England |
| Back to the top | |
Genealogist Paul W. Prindle obtained the will of John Crosby from the Bartlett Collection; Dr. Bartlett had obtained it from York Wills:
To wife Jane for life the house I live in, she paying a rent of 26s. 8d. yearly to my son Robert Crosby, beginning when he is 21; and he is to have said estate at her death. If wife remarry, she to give security to Robert Millington, to keep estate in repair. If all my children die s.p., then said estate to the children of Henry Patchett and Rowland Smith. To daughter Margaret, two cows, etc. If wife be with child, it to have two cows. All residue to daughter Margaret, she to be executrix. Witnesses: John Millington, Robert Millington.
John had assigned his oldest surviving child, Margaret Crosby, 21, to administer the will. At the beginning of 1605, she proved the will, but she herself died soon afterward. Her stepmother, our ancestor Jane Webster Crosby, then took over administration of her estate.
Genealogist William Lander has pondered over John's wish to leave his estate to the children of Hanry Patchett and Rowland Smith if his own children died without issue: Exactly what relationship did John had with the Patchett and Smith children? His only known sister, Elizabeth Crosby, had died without issue in 1587, "so unless he had another sister or two whose names have not been discovered, he could not have been blood uncle to them."
The administration of the estates of John Crosby and his daughter Margaret became entangled in a legal challenge. A Richard Yeoman of Holme-on-Spaulding Moor, through his attorney--a "Mr. Fothergill"--advanced a claim against the estates. According to York Wills:
16 Jan. 1606/7 warning was made not to give administration on the estate of John Crosbie, late of Holme-on-Spaulding Moor, nor on the portion of Margarete Crosbie, late of Holme-on-Spaulding Moor, not yet administered, without first "notefying" Yeoman or his attorney.By 13 Feb.1606/07, the Yeoman claim must have been settled: On that date John Webster, who might have been Jane Webster's brother, became the guardian of our ancestor Robert Crosby, 10 years old. John Webster and his young ward were named as administers of John Crosby's estate, whose inventory was by then less than £40.
Source for this page: John Crosby of Styllingfleet, Yorkshire, England, b. about 1440, constructed by William Lander, 176 Gieger Rd., Cleveland, TN. 37312 (E-mail: WLander@aol.com), © 1998 by William C. Lander.
Mr. Lander cited the following sources: