Pettypool Families in the 1500s: The John Puttypole Family of Southwest Essex

extracts from: English Ancestry of the Pettypool Family of Colonial Virginia

©Carolyn Hartsough

Southwest Essex, the 1500s.

The second Pettypool family from the 1500s that we will trace in some detail has left a number records in a cluster of parishes in southwest Essex, a preponderance associated with Great Warley, Barking and their surrounding villages. Of particular interest is the possible continuity of this Great Warley-Barking family with the families encountered during the late 1400s and early 1500s in the vicinity of the Rodings.

In particular, John Petypole of Ayethrope Roding in the 1524-25 lay subsidy seems a plausible antecedent to this Great Warley group as well as a descendant or extension of the Pettypool branch that was associated with the Beauchamp Roding property in the late 1400s. If this is the case, by the time of the 1524/25 assessment, John had seemingly fallen in status as compared to his probable antecedents. He is assessed at the lowest level (with 1 pound of goods) and thus appears not to be a substantial property holder.

In further attempts to trace this John and his possible family members, I searched the earliest sixteenth century vital registers for Aythorpe Roding and other surrounding parishes. No Pettypools were found for these areas nor for any nearby parishes. We must therefore assume that any male descendants of John of Aythorpe Roding had either moved on, failed to reproduce or that the relevant registers simply start too late.

According to Victoria County History– a series of county histories written during the reign of Queen Victoria– Great Warley is an ancient parish and until the nineteenth century it was primarily agricultural. It sits about 18 miles east and a bit north of central London in the far southwest corner of Essex, currently near the boundary between Essex and Greater London.1

How serious is the possibility that this John of the 1524-25 lay subsidy may be the John whose descendants we will trace in the upcoming narrative for Great Warley/Barking? It seems a real possibility, especially since the naming patterns of the Great Warley branch repeat forenames from the just earlier Beauchamp Roding group. In addition, Great Warley and other relevant nearby parishes are located only about 15 miles south from Beauchamp Roding. Moreover, as the presence of a William Potypole in Shenfeylde in 1524/25 shows, there were already Pettypools residing in the general area of Great Warley in the era just preceding the start of vital registration. Although this William of the lay subsidy is not encountered again in currently known records, Shenfield is a mere 3 miles north of Great Warley. The case of this William is also interesting because he is noted as being assessed for the 1524/25 returns based on wages, a finding suggesting that he may have left land holding or agriculture as a primary pursuit. Such wage earning will take on additional meaning as we learn more about the occupations of the Pettypools of the Great Warley area.

The following record from just prior to the start of parish registration confirms that this branch of the Pettypool family had likely already embarked on non-agricultural, wage-earning livelihoods, in particular carpentry. As early as 1531, we read:

Essex: William Gerlond, gentleman, by his attorney appeared on the fourth day against John Potypole, late of Ingeraff [Ingrave] in the aforesaid county, carpenter, concerning a plea that he should pay him 46s 8d, which he owes him and unjustly detains, etc. And he has not come. And the sheriff was ordered that he summon him, etc. And the sheriff now reports that he has nothing, etc. Therefore he is to be taken so that he may be here in the quindene of Easter day, etc.2

There is no known response from John Potypole of Ingrave to William Gerlond’s 1531 plea for payment of the debt detailed in the preceding suit. Perhaps Gerlond gave up when the sheriff reported that John “has nothing.” Since John was a carpenter, he was likely without land and perhaps with few goods. Gerlond seemingly had little recourse for recovery. What is also interesting to note from this record is that the village and parish of Ingrave, like Shenfield, lies approximately three miles from Great Warley, only in an easterly direction. It therefore seems likely that this John Potypole, is the same John Pettypool (Senior) who will subsequently appear in the Great Warley parish records when registration begins in 1538.

Assuming, conservatively, that John Junior was at least aged 21 at the time of his marriage, this assumes a birth date for him of no later than 1521. Using the 30-year generation-interval estimate adopted in the earlier chapters of this manuscript, this suggests a birth date for John Senior of approximately 1485, possibly even earlier. I estimate that the John Potypole in the earliest Great Warley parish records was born ca. 1485. As implied by the preceding analysis, his parents likely resided nearer the Rodings if, as speculated, he is a continuation of the branch resident there in the late 1400s. This elder John’s approximate birth date can be inferred because he had a putative son, John Junior, who was married in Great Warley in 1542:

John puttypole Junr & Ann Person were Marryed the xviith of Septembr Ano [Domini] 3

According to this speculative accounting John Senior would have been nearing his sixth decade when the following grandchild was born in 1543 to the marriage of John Junior and Ann (Person) Puttypoole:

Great Warley is one of a few Essex parishes in which use of the distinctive female forename Rabearge (alternatively Rabarge, Rabbege, Rabege, Rabbedge, Roberge) was encountered with some frequency during the mid-1500s. At first, I thought that I had misread the clerk’s hand. Learning that the name is known to be the Latinized form of the name Rebecca, I double-checked to make certain that the clerk at Great Warley had not used the name in the formulaic Latin sometimes seen in these early parish registers, for which he would have expected the reader to translate the whole sentence or phrase, including the name, into conventional English. 4 However, this was not the case.

It soon became clear that many parents in the area were christening their girl children with the name, and others were presumably using the name in common parlance and as a nickname. For example, in a subsequent section of the narrative, see the bequest of Robert Pyrmeter to daughter Agnes and Richard Puttypole’s child, who was christened as Rebecka but apparently nicknamed and perhaps known as “Rabbedge.” Moreover, as I painstakingly read through decades of Great Warley entries looking for other elusive Pettypool registrations, I kept encountering many other instances of families who had also used the name during the period encompassing the latter part of the 1500s and early 1600s. I have begun to believe that I was witnessing a forename fad of some sort, apparently time-limited and perhaps geographically limited as well.

Rabearge puttypole daughter of John puttypoole was christened the xixth of Maye Anno [Domini] 5

Unless John Junior and Ann (Person) Puttypoole moved to another parish or have otherwise escaped detection, John Junior had no children other than Rabearge christened in Great Warley, and apparently both he and the elder John likely were dead by 1551. There are two burials, separated by six years, for Pettypool men called John in the mid-1500s in Great Warley.

1545 John Puttypoole was buried the 26 of Aprill7

1551 John Puttipoole was buryed the 25 of March8

I have assumed that the first of these burials, in April of 1545, was for John the younger as there were no other children in the registers born to any John after the 1543 birth of Rabearge. It is possible that the death dates for the two men should be reversed, but there is presently no way to make that determination. There is only one other burial discovered in the Great Warley registers for Pettypool family members, and it is for a female, also named Ann.

1557 Ann Puttipole was buryed the 25 of March9

This latter could be the burial of Ann, either wife or daughter of John the elder or Ann Person, wife of John the younger. I tend to believe that it was not the latter. Since John Junior’s wife would have been widowed as a relatively young woman, I would have expected her to remarry quite quickly and thus to have acquired another surname. This burial also could result from another Pettypool family who was present in Great Warley at the same time. This is the family of Richard, married in the same decade as John Junior and consequently also attributed as a son to John Senior.

Richard enters the Great Warley parish register in 1549 upon his marriage to a woman who is named in the register, according to my reading as “Ann Parmenter”. We later will have reason to question whether the forename “Ann” was just a “called” name, but that she was a Parmenter seems correct, according to independent evidence. The register reads:

Richard puttypole And Ann parmenter were marryed the first of July Anno [Domini] 10

Births of five girls, all named as children of Richard, subsequently appear with remarkable regularity (with one exception) in the Great Warley register approximately every one to two years for the next decade. Thus the register reads:

1550 Margarete puttypole daughter of Richard puttypole was christened the xxvjth of March Anno [Domini] 11

1552 Alice Puttypole daughter of Richard puttypole was christened the xxjst day of May Anno [Domini] 12

1556 Margaret puttypole daughter of Richard puttypole was christened the iiijth of August Anno [Domini] 13

1558 Johan pottypole daughter of Richard puttypole was christened the xviijth of December Anno [Domini] 14

1560 Rebecka pottypole daughter of Richard pottypole was christened the viijth day of December Anno [Domini] 15

After the birth of Rebecka in 1560, the Great Warley registers record no additional births for any Pettypool families.

There is a marriage of a Richard Puttipoole in May of 1561 in the adjoining parish of South Weald. It is reported:

1561 May Richard Puttipoole & Johan Boxer ⁄4⁄ 16

It is possible that more than one Richard of marriageable age could be residing in the region of Great Warley-South Weald, but given the low frequency of the appearance of any Pettypool people at any period of English history, it seems unlikely. In addition, the appearance in 1561 of a new wife for Richard of Great Warley would explain the sudden disruption in birth records after 1560 for Richard’s Great Warley family.

There is an unexplained gap in burial records from the Great Warley registration book between the years of 1560 and 1589. It is as though a whole set of leaves has become detached from the vicar’s book and become lost from the other entries (which are marvelously complete otherwise).

Apparently Richard’s wife, “Ann” Parmeter, had died circa 1560 although her death date, if recorded at Great Warley, has been lost. In any event, Richard’s children’s baptisms, as shown above, are the last evidence of Richard’s family in Great Warley although there is evidence of one other Pettypool family member.

1559 [1559/60] James Broton [Burton?] & Catheryne puttypole were marryed the xxxth of January Anno [Domini] 17

It is a bit difficult to place this Catheryne within the context of the other families known to be present in Great Warley during the mid-sixteenth century. Sometime in the mid-twenties was the average age at marriage for both genders in sixteenth century England. 18 Using age twenty-five as an estimate, this places Catheryne’s birth at approximately 1535. This date seems a bit too early for an attribution of her paternity to either John Junior or Richard and a bit late for an attribution to John Senior. The latter attribution is possible, however, particularly if John Senior had a late second marriage. Ultimately, until additional evidence is found, Catheryne’s parentage will remain unattributed.

Other pieces of data from two wills of the period potentially further inform our understanding of the family of Richard of Great Warley. The first will was created by Robert Parmyter of High Laver, Essex. The abstract of this will, written in January of 1566, reads as follows:

ROBERT P[AR]MYTER of High Laver, 30 Jan 1565/6 To the poor folks of this parish 8 d. To Anne CHURCH and Agnes RODE my daughter's children, each a lamb, to ALICE PYTPOOLE my daughter Agnes' child a sheep and a lamb, a heitch, a flaxen wheel, a pewter dish, a tablecloth, a treen platter, and a treen dish. To "Rabbedge" her sister and my daughter Margaret's child each a lamb. To my son William my watering vat, a 'heyer' to dry malt, a dung coup, and a grinding stone with an iron wench. To my son Thomas a bed, a mattock, a spade, a dung fork, a scythe, an axe, and a bell. To Dorothy, Peter READE's child, a lamb. The rest of my goods to Elizabeth my wife whom I make my executrix. I ordain overseer Henry FOSTER and for his pains 20 d. Witnesses: Thomas CLARKE, William GAMLYE, Reynold KINGE. Proved 16 May 1566. 19

High Laver is a small village in central Essex, located approximately five miles almost due west of Beauchamp Roding, yet another connection between the Pettypool family of Great Warley and the fourteenth century group resident in the Rodings. Like so many villages in this central and fertile area of Essex, High Laver was “a rural parish devoted almost exclusively to agriculture.”20

In addition to confirming a likely Beauchamp Roding connection, it also now confirms that Richard of Great Warley was first married to Agnes Parmeter (or Parmenter) although she apparently was known by her “called” name “Ann”. According to English naming traditions, Ann is a nickname that is often substituted for Agnes. 21 We also can now confirm that all the daughters born to Richard also belonged to Ann (or Agnes).

Although we don’t know exactly when or why it happened, sometime after their marriage in South Weald in 1561 Richard and his second wife, Joan Boxer, appear to have left the area of Great Warley and moved slightly south and further west to the parish of Barking. In their migration patterns, they appear to have been following the route of the River Roding, perhaps because concentrated residential settlement also followed such a path.

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, Barking parish lies near where the River Roding meets an inlet of a Thames tributary. As such its residents have long had associations with maritime industries and trades, including a need for carpenters for boat building and repair.27 In later centuries, Barking was to become one of greatest ports in England, and because of encroaching population, in the twentieth century Barking became a municipal borough of Greater London.

Although Barking parish registration begins in 1558, no records relevant to Richard’s family appear until 1577. Available sixteenth century records from parishes adjoining Great Warley and Barking also have been searched, and no trace of Richard nor members of his family have yet been found other than in Barking. The 1577 entry records the following birth:

May 1577 John the sonne of Richard Puttipole baptized the 26th of May22

If, as I have tentatively concluded, this John baptized in Barking is the son of Richard of Great Warley, Richard would have been in his 50’s and married for 16 years to Joan Boxer. It appears that there were no births of children earlier or later in their marriage, at least none that have made it into local parish registers.

St. Margaret's, Barking.

Pettypool descendants are fortunate, indeed, that John was born. All his known living siblings were females, and the Pettypool surname appears to have come close to disappearing in his branch had he not survived to marry and produce male children, including Samuel, the father of the American immigrant William. We will trace John and his descendants in the section on the seventeenth century exploits of the Pettypool family in London’s eastern suburbs. But first, there are further sixteenth century Pettypool records to discuss.

Also in 1577, the second of the two wills referred to above again mentions an “Alice Puttypole”. It is presented in abstracted form below:

JONAS WRIGHTE of Stanford-le-Hope, 4 Aug. 1577. (Nuncupative.) He desired his mother Ellen SANDELL, who he made executrix, to bestow his goods as following. To his brother Matthew WRIGHTE his best doublet, a young colt, and his part of a quiver which he had; to Rd. SANDELL his father -in-law [4 pounds] of the [8 pounds] which he doth owe to him, also 4 sheep; to his brother ‘Noye’ WRIGHTE [6 pounds 13 shillings 4 pence] to be put in the hands of ‘Eugeny’ GATTON gentleman to be kept to the use of the said ‘Noeth’; to John R[ER?]N a lamb and his apparel with 2 old shirts; to his father -in-law’s childr en [4 pence] apiece; to Alice PUTTYPOLE a pair of old shoes, with 2 pennyworth of hobnails; to Jonas STAYCE his godson [6 shillings 8 pennies]; to Nich. Son of [Jonas] STACYE [3 shillings 4 pence] which he did owe him; to John BRUER [4 pence] which he doth owe him; and to Rd. PONDE [6 shillings with 2 pence] which he did owe him. The residue of his goods to his mother, to bestow on the poor and on Sarah WRIGHT his sister what she shall think good. Proved 17 Sept. 1577 [in original only]23

If the Alice Puttypole in this latter will is the same Alice (daughter of Richard) as in the earlier bequest, she would be 25 years old at the writing of the will. There is no evidence of another Alice Puttypole in the general area, but during this era one could easily escape detection because parish records were not universal in their coverage of all individuals in all parishes.

The final three sixteenth-century entries for this Pettypool family in the Barking registers refer to one marriage and two burials. The marriage entry is for a Margarett Pettypool:

Septembr 1586 Robert Seaton and Margarett Pettypoole marryed the vith day of September24

The identity of this Margarett has not been established. She could be one of the daughters called Margaret born to the marriage of Richard and Ann (Parmeter) Pettypool. However, if a child from this marriage, why was she overlooked in the 1577 will of her grandfather, Robert Parmyter? Her sisters, Alice and “Rabbedge” were remembered. She could also be a child, of unrecorded birth, from the second marriage of Richard to Johan Boxer in 1561. A child born shortly after 1561 would make Margarett in her early to mid-twenties in 1586, a highly marriageable age in this era.

The two burial entries are:

Novembr 1587 Richard Petypool buried the 19th day of november25

and

May 1593 Joane Petypoole, widow buried the 24th of may26

The timing of these burials appears entirely consistent with what we have earlier surmised about Richard (of Great Warley and then Barking), the son of John Puttypole Senior. His presumed first marriage in 1549 to Ann Parmenter suggests a birth year of approximately 1525. Accordingly, he would have entered the seventh decade of his life with a death date in November 1587, not a long life by contemporary standards but good by the standards of the time.

For more information...

This page contains excerpts from English Ancestry of the Pettypool Family of Colonial Virginia by Carolyn Hartsough. It contains a more complete discussion of the southwest Essex Pettypool family.

To read the complete document:

[1] W. R. Powell, Editor. “Great Warley”. Article. A History of the County of Essex: Volume 7 (London: Oxford University Press, 1978), 163-174, accessed 24 January 2014.

[2]Anglo-American Legal Tradition: Documents from Medieval and Early Modern England from the National Archives in London, Document CP40no1068, Image 1907, accessed 24 Dec 2012.

[3]Percival Boyd. Boyd Marriage Index, Essex, First Series. (Type-script). Grooms L-Z 1538-1600, Puttipole, Jn & Ann Pearson, Warley Gt., 1542; FHL microfiche 472,033. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Also, see Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials 1539-1695," Marriages: 1539-1695, Image 41, John Puttypole Junr and Ann Person, 17 September 1542; accessed 28 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England. Of course, given the conventions of the period, John Senior could have been an uncle or older cousin to John Junior rather than father, but this possibility does not seriously alter the logic of the argument regarding the r elative ages of the two men. I suspect, however, that this was a father -son relationship.

[4]London G. Bell, et. al. Notes and queries. Journal. No. 57, 1881, 418, accessed 10 January 2014.

[5]Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials 1539-1695," Baptisms: 1539-1695, Image 7, Rabearge Puttypoole, 19 May 1543; accessed 27 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[7]Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials 1539-1695,"Burials: 1539- 1695, Image 57, John Puttypoole, 26 Aprill 1545; accessed 28 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[8]Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials 1539-1695,"Burials: 1539-1695, Image 58, John Puttipoole, 25 March 1551; accessed 28 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[9]Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials," Burials: 1539-1695, Image 58, Ann Puttipole, 25 March 1557; accessed 28 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[10]Percival Boyd. Boyd Marriage Index, Essex, First Series. (Typescript). Grooms L-Z 1538-1600, Puttipole Ric. & Amy Parmenter, Warley Gt., 1549, FHL microfiche 472,033. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Also, see Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials 1539-1695," Marriages: 1539-1695, Image 42, Richard Puttypole and Ann Parmenter, 1 July 1549; accessed 28 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[11]Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials," Baptisms: 1539-1695, Image 8, Margaret Puttypole, 26 March 1550; accessed 27 December 2013; Essex Record Of fice, Chelmsfor d, Essex, England.

[12]Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials," Baptisms: 1539-1695, Image 9, Alice Puttypole, 21 May 1552; accessed 27 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[13]Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials," Baptisms: 1539-1695, Image 9, Margaret Puttypole, 4 August 1556; accessed 27 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[14]Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials," Baptisms: 1539-1695, Image 10, Johan Pottypole, 18 December 1558; accessed 27 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[15]Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials," Baptisms: 1539-1695, Image 10, Rebecka Pottypole, 8 December 1560; accessed 27 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[16]Percival Boyd. Boyd Marriage Index, Essex, First Series. (Typescript). Grooms L-Z 1538-1600, Puttipole, Ric & Joan Boxer, S. Weald S Peter, 1561, FHL microfiche 472,033. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Also, see South Weald, Essex, St. Peter Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials 1559-1654," Marriages: 1559-1654, Image 6, Richard Puttipoole and Johan Boxer, 4 May 1561; accessed 28 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[17]Percival Boyd. Boyd Marriage Index, Essex, First Series. (Typescript). Brides L-Z 1538-1600, Puttipole, Cath. & James Broton, Warley Gt., 1559; FHL microfiche 472,034. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Also, see Great Warley, Essex, St. Mary the Virgin Parish Registers, "Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials 1539- 1695," Marriages: 1539-1695, Image 44, James Broton & Catheryne puttypole, 30 January 1559/60; accessed 28 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[18]Robert Bucholz and Newton Key, Early Modern England 1485-1714, 172.

[19]F. G. Emmison, Wills of the County of Essex (England): Volume 2 1565-1571, 4 Volumes (Washington D. C.: National Genealogical Society, 1983), Vol. 2, 23.

[20]W. R. Powell, Editor. “High Laver”. Article. A History of the County of Essex: Volume 4: Ongar Hundred (London: Oxfor d University Press, 1956), 88, accessed 30 January 2014.

[21]See “Nicknames and Naming Traditions”, accessed 24 January 2014.

[22]Barking, Essex, St. Margaret, "Baptism Register," Image 16, John Puttipole, 26 May 1577; accessed 27 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[23]F. G. Emmison, Essex Wills: The Archdeaconry Courts 1577-1584, 4 Volumes (Chelmsford: Essex Record Office; Friends of Historic Essex, 1987), Vol. 4, 13.

[24]Percival Boyd. Boyd Marriage Index, Essex, First Series. (Typescript). Brides L-Z 1538-1600, Pettipool, Mgt. & Robert Seaton, Barking 1586; FHL microfiche 472,034. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Also, see Barking, Essex, St. Margaret Parish Registers, "Marriage register: 1558-1642," Image 16, Robert Seaton & Margarett Pettypoole, 6 September 1586; accessed 27 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[25]Barking, Essex, St. Margaret Parish Registers, "Burial register: 1558-1643," Image 38, Richard Petypool, 19 November 1587; accessed 29 December 2013; Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex,England.

[26]Barking, Essex, St. Margaret Parish Registers, "Burial Register: 1558-1643," Image 51, Joane Petypoole, 24 May 1593; accessed 29 December 2013 Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

[27]W. R. Powell (Editor). “The Borough of Barking”. Article. A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5 London: Oxford University Press, 1978, 235-248, accessed 24 January 2014.