I am wondering if anyone can help track down information on Mary Savage, as
I have just found out more details about her.
Mary Savage (-1622), daughter of Sir John Savage and Elizabeth Manners,
appears to be entombed in St. Boniface's church, in Nursling, Hampshire,
near Southampton, with her second (?) husband, Sir Richard Mill (-1613). see
fuzzy picture here.
http://www.southernlife.org.uk/nursling.htm
I want to know as much about her as possible, as my ancestor John Hitchcock,
claims her as his grandmother (see Visitation of Wilts).
http://uk-genealogy.org.uk/england/Wilt ... s/p98.html
and, as she was descended on her mother's side from the Duchess of Exeter
(sister of Edward IV and Richard III) and on her father's from Charles
Somerset, Earl of Worcester, and son of Henry Beaufort, it is a very rich
line to mine. Also, her third marriage seems to have been to Sir. Thomas
Wroughton, whose daughter had married the son of Ann Seymour, niece of Jane
Seymour, one of Henry VIII's queens, and widow of John Dudley, Earl of
Warwick who was the brother-in-law of Lady Jane Grey.
British History online gives the text below about a dispute over Sir
Richard's property, but no Chancery case seems to have gone forward. Is
there a way to find out more about Mary that might connect her with the
Hitchcocks? Her third husband, according to BHO, Sir Thomas Wroughton was of
Broad Hinton, Wilts., and the properties there seem to be associated with
the Hungerfords, Ferrers, Mervyns, and Benetts, all of which are related to
John Hitchcock, either through his wife (a Hungerford, daughter of a
Ferrers) or his daughter, who married a Bennett, who was a distant cousin of
Lucy Davies, grandaughter of Lucy Mervyn and George Touchet. This makes the
connection seem much less speculative, especially if Mary was alive and
married to a Wiltshire man at the time of the visitation.
<John Mill outlived his eldest son Richard, and died in 1551, leaving the
manor [Nursling] to his second son George. (fn.
21<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n21>)
The latter held the manor for seventeen years, but died without issue in
1568. (fn. 22 <http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n22>)
Before his death he had settled the manor upon his brother Thomas in
fee-tail on the occasion of his marriage with Alice daughter of Robert
Coker. Thomas and Alice had issue one son called Richard and several
daughters. As Richard was 'very sickly in his youth,' George was often
minded to settle the reversion of his lands after his death on his younger
brother John in fee-tail, so as to continue the same in his own name, but
refrained from doing so on account of the former settlement. (fn.
23<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n23>)
On the death of George the estate therefore passed to Richard, who some time
afterwards married Mary daughter of Sir John Savage. 'He used his sisters
very kindly oftentimes affirming that the possibility of his lands would be
a preferment for them in marriage he having no issue nor likely to have
any,' and although his wife Mary often entreated him to disinherit his
sisters he steadfastly refused, saying that the lands should descend to them
in accordance with the wish of his uncle. However, Mary prevailed upon him
to settle a part of his estate upon her for life, although he persisted in
his determination of settling the greater part upon his sisters. Shortly
afterwards 'he grew weak both in body and mind by reason of a dread palsey
which he had,' and while in this state his wife Mary and her nephew Sir
Thomas Savage, who waited upon him and 'mynistered phisicke' to him during
his long illness, seemingly gained complete ascendancy over him, so much so
that he finally conveyed the greater part of his estates to Mary about 1609,
(fn. 24 <http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n24>) and
by his will left only £300 to his sisters, Anne the wife of Thomas Bilson,
Alice the wife of Sir John Bingham, Elizabeth Collnett, and Bridget the wife
of Thomas Barnes. (fn.
25<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n25>)
After her husband's death in 1613 (fn.
26<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n26>)
Mary used 'faier words' to her husband's sisters, but nevertheless previous
to her marriage with Thomas Wroughton in 1616 executed a deed granting the
reversion of her property to her nephew. (fn.
27<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n27>)
The sisters of Richard appealed to the Court of Chancery, but the case was
dismissed in 1619. (fn.
28<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n28>)
Sir Thomas, afterwards Viscount Savage, who had succeeded to Nursling on the
death of his aunt in 1623, (fn.
29<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n29>)
sold the manor to Sir Thomas Cornwallis, groom porter to James I, John
Scrivener, and others in December, 1624, (fn.
30<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n30>)
and made the first conveyance by fine in the spring of 1625. (fn.
31<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42022#n31>)
best,
mk