Person Page - 3387

     Cecily Fouleshurst married Sir Thomas Gerard of Bryn, son of Sir Peter Gerard of Bryn & Kingsley and Isabella Strangways.^1,2

Cecily Fouleshurst died on 25 May 1502 at England.¹
      ;
Genealogics cites:

     John Gerard of Ince married Helen de Ince in 1399
;
Per Genealogics:
Date is of contract or similar.³
John Gerard of Ince died before 1434;
Per Genealogics:
IPM date.¹
      ;
Genealogics cites:

     John Gerard was born on 1 October 1564.¹
John Gerard died on 27 July 1637 at age 72.¹
      ; Gunpowder Plot conspirator.¹

Reference:
Per Wikipedia:
John Gerard (4 October 1564 – 27 July 1637)[1] was a priest of the Society of Jesus who operated a secret ministry of the underground Catholic Church in England during the Elizabethan era.

He was born into the English nobility as the second son of Sir Thomas Gerard at Old Bryn Hall, near Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. After attending seminary and being ordained abroad, Gerard returned to England covertly shortly after the 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada. Gerard not only successfully hid from the English authorities for eight years before his capture but also endured extensive torture, escaped from the Tower of London, recovered and continued with his covert mission until the exposure of the Gunpowder Plot made it impossible to continue.

After his escape to Catholic Europe, Gerard was instructed by his Jesuit superiors to write a book about his life in Latin.[2] An English translation by Philip Caraman was published in 1951 as John Gerard: Autobiography of an Elizabethan and is a rare first-hand account of the dangerous cloak-and-dagger world of a Catholic priest in Elizabethan England.[3] Ignatius Press published a second edition in 2012 under the title The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest: John Gerard, S.J..

Early life
John Gerard was born 4 October 1564, the second son of Sir Thomas Gerard of Bryn Hall, and Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Port of Derbyshire. In 1569, when John Gerard was five years old, his father was imprisoned for plotting the rescue of Mary, Queen of Scots, from Tutbury Castle. His release in 1571 may have been influenced by his cousin Sir Gilbert Gerard who was Attorney General at that time. During that time John and his brother were placed with Protestant relatives, but his father obtained for them a Catholic tutor.[citation needed]

In August 1577, at age 12, he was sent to the English College at Douai, which relocated the following March to Rheims. At the age of 15 he spent a year at Exeter College, Oxford, which was followed by about a year of home-study of Koine Greek and Ecclesiastical Latin under a tutor, a Mr Leutner (Edmund Lewkenor, brother of Sir Lewes Lewknor Master of the Ceremonies to King James I). He then went to the Jesuit Clermont College in Paris. After some months there, followed by an illness and convalescence, in the latter part of 1581 he went to Rouen to see Jesuit priest Robert Persons.[1]

First mission
As Gerard had left for Clermont without the requisite travel permit, upon his return to England, he was arrested by customs officials upon landing at Dover. While his companions were sent to London, he was released in the custody of a Protestant in-law. But after three months, having still not attended Anglican services, he was remanded to the Marshalsea prison. He spent a little over a year there in company with William Hartley, Stephen Rowsham, John Adams, and William Bishop. In the spring of 1585, Anthony Babington, who was later executed for treason for his involvement in a plot to free the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, posted bond to secure Gerard's release.[1]

Second mission
Gerard then went to Rome and was given another mission on behalf of the Jesuits to England. In November 1588, three months after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Gerard and Edward Oldcorne landed in Norfolk to begin their task of sustaining Catholics among the English people. Having made his way to Norwich he met there the Lord of the Manor of Grimston, a Recusant called Edward Yelverton. After a two days’ journey on horseback, Gerard—now Mr. Thompson—settled down quietly in the Manor House at Grimston, 8 miles East of King's Lynn, as an honoured guest. He was in great danger, but his retreat was believed as safe as any south of the Humber.[citation needed] Gerard was no ordinary man. He had indeed strange powers of attraction and fascination. He was introduced to the chief families of the neighbourhood, Walpoles and Woodhouses among others, and though only twenty-four he had extraordinary influence among them. His stay in Grimston lasted seven or eight months. After that he lived for some time at Lawshall, near Bury St Edmunds. Eventually, Gerard was taken to the leader of the English Jesuits, Father Henry Garnet. Gerard soon became a very popular figure in the Catholic underground. To stay above suspicion, Gerard cultivated a respectable public image.[4] By way of disguises, he appeared very secular, being versed in gambling and wearing fashionable clothes. Gerard wrote of many escapes from the law and of occasions when he hid in priest holes, which could often be as small as 1 meter tall and half a meter wide. In 1591 Gerard became the chaplain to the Wiseman household, Braddocks, led by William and Jane Wiseman. The household included Jane Wiseman who was William's widowed mother. Gerard persuaded her to create a new home for herself and a chaplain at the Wisemans' dower-house of Bullocks (not to be confused with their main house which was called Braddocks) which would become as additional centre for Catholicism and priest harbouring.[5]

Capture and torture
Gerard was finally captured in London on 23 April 1594, together with Nicholas Owen. He was tried, found guilty and sent to the Compter in the Poultry. Later he was moved to the Clink prison where he was able to meet regularly with other imprisoned English Catholics. Due to his continuation of this work, he was sent to the Salt Tower in the Tower of London, where he was further questioned and tortured by being repeatedly suspended from chains on the dungeon wall.[4] The main aim of Gerard's torturers was to find out the London lodgings of Henry Garnet, so that they could arrest him. However, Gerard refused to answer any questions that involved others, or to name them. He later insisted that he never broke down, a fact borne out by the files of the Tower.[citation needed]

Henry Garnet wrote about Gerard:

Twice he has been hung up by the hands with great cruelty on the part of others and no less patience on his own. The examiners say he is exceedingly obstinate and a great friend either of God or of the devil, for they say they cannot extract a word from his lips, save that, amidst his torments, he speaks the word, "Jesus". Recently they took him to the rack, where the torturers and examiners stood ready for work. But when he entered the place, he at once threw himself on his knees and with a loud voice prayed to God that ... he would give him strength and courage to be rent to pieces before he might speak a word that would be injurious to any person or to the divine glory. And seeing him so resolved, they did not torture him.[6]
Escape from the Tower
Gerard's most famous exploit is believed to have been masterminded by Nicholas Owen. With help from other members of the Catholic underground, Gerard, along with John Arden, escaped on a rope strung across the Tower moat during the night of 4 October 1597. Despite the fact that his hands were still mangled from the tortures he had undergone, he succeeded in climbing down. He even arranged for the escape of his gaoler (jailer), with whom he had become friendly, and who he knew would be held responsible for the jailbreak. It is speculated that he befriended the jailer so that if circumstance favoured an escape, it could be turned to his advantage. Immediately following his escape, he joined Henry Garnet and Robert Catesby in Uxbridge. Later, Gerard moved to the house of Dowager Elizabeth Vaux[7] at Harrowden, near Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. From this base of operations, he continued his priestly ministry, and reconciled many to the Catholic Church, including Sir Everard Digby (one of the future conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot).

Later life
For the next eight years he continued his ministry among the English people before he was recalled to the continent to train Jesuits for the English Mission.[4] He was accused by Robert Catesby's servant Thomas Bates of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot. While on the run, Gerard stayed at Harrowden again. While hiding in a priest hole during a nine-day search of the house, he wrote a refutation of Bates' charges, and arranged to have it printed and scattered about the streets in London.[8] He eventually escaped from there to London. He left the country with financial aid from Elizabeth Vaux, slipping away disguised as a footman in the retinue of the Spanish Ambassador,[9] on the very day of Henry Garnet's execution. Gerard continued the work of the Jesuits in Europe, where he wrote his autobiography on the orders of his superiors. He died in 1637, aged 73, at the English College, Rome, a seminary.

Writings
The Autobiography of a hunted priest (trans. from Latin to English by Philip Caraman), San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-58617-450-7
A Narrative of the Gunpowder Plot ISBN 978-1-72975-539-6

Bibliography
Bernard Basset: The English Jesuits, London, 1967.
Philip Caraman: John Gerard; the autobiography of an Elizabethan, London, 1951.
Francis Edwards (ed.): The Elizabethan Jesuits, London, 1981.²

     Dorothy FitzHerbert married Sir John Port of Etwal, Derbyshire, son of John Port of Etwall and Jane FitzHerbert,
;
His 2nd of 2 wives; her 2nd of 2 husbands.¹ Dorothy FitzHerbert married Sir Ralph Longford, son of Nicholas Longford and Margaret/Margery Trafford,
;
Her 1st of 2 husbands.² Dorothy FitzHerbert was born circa 1510 at England.¹
Dorothy FitzHerbert died in 1557 at England.¹
      ;
Genealogics cites: [S01354] ~Burke's Peerage and Baronetage 1999, 106th Edition . 2684.¹

     Sir Ralph Longford married Dorothy FitzHerbert, daughter of Sir Anthony fitz Herbert of Norbury and Maud Cotton of Hamstall-Ridware,
;
Her 1st of 2 husbands.¹ Sir Ralph Longford was born circa 1508.¹
Sir Ralph Longford died on 23 September 1544 at Longford, Derbyshire, England.¹
     Reference:
Genealogics cites: Foundations. Journal of the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy . 1:5:13-6.¹

     John Fynderne Sr. married Catherine (?)^1,4

John Fynderne Sr. died after 1412.¹
      ;
Genealogics cites: [S04563] Jewitt, Llewellyn (ed), The Reliquary. 3:194.¹

     Sir Thomas Giffard of Chillington married Dorothy Montgomery of Cubley, daughter of Sir John Montgomery of Cubley and Elizabeth Gresley.^5,6
Sir Thomas Giffard of Chillington was born circa 1490 at England.¹ He married Ursula Throckmorton of Coughton on 20 October 1531
;
Per Genealogics: date of contract or similar
Family     Sir Thomas Giffard, of Chillington, b. Est 1490 d. 27 May 1560 (Age ~ 70 years)
Marriage     20 Oct 1531
Notes      Date is of contract or similar.
Children      
+     1. Isabel Giffard
+     2. Dorothy Giffard
+     3. John Giffard, b. Est 1535 d. 1612, Chillington Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 77 years)
+     4. Anne Giffard, of Chillington.⁷
Sir Thomas Giffard of Chillington died on 27 May 1560 at England.¹
     Reference:
Genealogics cites:

;
From Wikipedia:
Sir Thomas Giffard (c.1491 – 27 May 1560) was a Tudor courtier, Staffordshire landowner and Member of the English Parliament.

Background and early life
Thomas Giffard's father was Sir John Giffard of Chillington Hall, near Brewood, Staffordshire. Sir John was a notable courtier and soldier, as well as one of the county's wealthiest landowners, and his family had lived at Chillington since the late 12th century.[1] Thomas Giffard's mother was Jane Horde, daughter of Thomas Horde, the most important landowner in the Bridgnorth area. She died in childbirth in 1491, within a short time of his birth, although, as his exact birth date is not known, it is unclear whether it was while giving birth to him or a subsequent child.

Giffard received a brief legal education. Initially he was at the Strand Inn, one of the Inns of Chancery attached to the Middle Temple.[2] On 11 November 1512 he was admitted to the Inner Temple.

His father remarried by 1515 to Elizabeth Gresley, widow of Sir John Montgomery of Cubley, Derbyshire. At the same time or a little later, Thomas Giffard married his step-mother's daughter, Dorothy, who was about two years younger than himself. As Dorothy was the heir to the Montgomery estates, Giffard was able to set himself up in modest comfort and security, independently of his father.

Landowner
Thomas Giffard, despite his own longevity, was to outlive his father by only four years, so it was particularly fortunate for him to acquire property young. In his first wife's right, he was lord of Cubley itself and also Caverswall,[3] a small manor to the north-east of Stafford, on the edge of the Staffordshire moorlands. The couple settled at Caverswall Castle, and this was to remain Giffard's main home, even after his wife's death, which was by 1529, as this was the year of his second marriage.

However, Giffard did not content himself with waiting to inherit the family estates. He was Escheator for Staffordshire in 1523–24. Thereafter he sought positions managing the estates of other major landowners. He became bailiff and custodian of Brewood Park,[2] a major part of the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield's land in Brewood parish. For this he was receiving £5 0s. 8d. in 1535.[1] The sum was not huge but for ambitious landed gentry such posts were a foot in the door: later, the Giffards would become not merely keepers but tenants of the park and able to profit more amply from managing it. Giffard also took on a similar post at the manor of Shenstone, Staffordshire.

The passing of the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act in 1536 brought further opportunities, opening up a wide range of small properties for landowners and entrepreneurs at Giffard's level. Soon he was bidding for Black Ladies Priory, a dissolved nunnery to the west of Brewood. Sir Edward Littleton, his contemporary and neighbour at Pillaton Hall was a competitor, with Bishop Rowland Lee on his side.[2] The matter was referred to Thomas Cromwell, who decided in favour of Thomas Giffard, described as "of Stretton",[1] a manor on the southern edge of Penkridge and close to Black Ladies, which he had taken on by this time. Giffard paid £134 1s. 8d. for the property, which consisted of the site and grounds of the priory building itself, including the church and churchyard a water-mill, together with a tract of grazing land in Brewood – all valued at £7 9s. 1d. a year.[4] He built a new house on the site and seems to have moved to live in it.[3] After his father's death, he leased Black Ladies to Humphrey, a younger son, although the reversion remained with John Giffard, his heir.[5]

Sir Thomas Giffard was sufficiently prominent, even before inheriting the family estates, to be pricked High Sheriff of Staffordshire three times: 1529–30, 1547–8, and 1553–4.[2] He was a Justice of the Peace for Staffordshire from 1532 until his death. He inherited the Giffard estates only in 1556. As son and heir, he obtained the lordships of Chillington, Marston, Plardiwick near Gnosall and Walton in Eccleshall, and as a lessee of the Crown the lordship of Pattingham.[3] Together with his own substantial estates, all this made him, for a short time, a very wealthy man.

Courtier
Like his father, Giffard was frequently at the royal court, where he had attained the post of Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber by 1533 and held it until his death.[2] As a close confidant of the king, he was honoured further by being made Ranger of Cannock forest jointly with his father.

Sometimes Thomas worked with his father in the royal service. In 1539 they were sent to make ready the castles at Dover and Sittingbourne for the arrival of Anne of Cleves, on her way to meet the king at Blackheath, although the king actually surprised her by appearing in disguise at Rochester.

Like other courtiers, he also proved his loyalty by taking up arms on the king's behalf. In 1544, aged at least 53, he enlisted in an army of 40,000 under the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk to invade in northern France, as part of the Italian War of 1542–1546. However, the campaign became bogged down in protracted sieges and ended inconclusively after a few months, when Charles V, Henry VIII's main ally in the war, made a separate peace.

Parliamentary career
Giffard was returned to the English parliament for the first time in 1539 as one of the knights of the shire for Staffordshire. The other member was Edward Littleton,[6] already an experienced parliamentarian. The parliament lasted for just over a year and its main business was to pass the Second Act of Dissolution, which dealt with the larger monasteries.

After this, Giffard was not elected to parliament again until October 1553, the first parliament of Mary's reign. The obvious reason would be his known religious conservatism. This was shared not only with his father, but also his colleague, Littleton, and he too was out of parliament until October 1553. However, Giffard was not out of favour with Edward VI or his governments. In fact he was knighted on 22 February 1547,[2] just two days after the new king was crowned. It is more likely that the local political situation was the reason.[6] Elections were becoming more competitive and that it was simply harder to secure a seat.

The election of 7 September 1553 resulted in Giffard's being "chosen by every man's voice": literally true, as an acclamation or voice vote was used unless the closeness of the voting necessitated a poll. Baron Stafford was determined to have his son, Henry, win the other seat and claimed victory. Littleton therefore demanded a count and was found to have a large majority, but the dispute still went as far as Stephen Gardiner, the Lord Chancellor, before Littleton could join Giffard again as MP for the county. The parliament lasted only two months and it was followed by two more brief parliaments in 1554. Giffard was not elected to either of them, and would have been unable to serve in the first, as he was Sheriff. However, the post did afford him the pleasure of returning his own son John as member for the borough of Stafford.

Giffard was returned again for the county late in 1555, once more with Littleton. Conservative by instinct, both tended to conform to whatever the regime demanded. Both were Catholic and neither was recognised by Elizabeth as a member who had "stood for the true religion" in the previous reign. Giffard, like Littleton, went along with Mary's legislation, ignoring any attempts to organise resistance. Unlike Littleton, however, Giffard outlived Mary's Counter-Reformation and was forced to make a decision when faced by the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. He seized the opportunity afforded by the new, Protestant queen's coronation to sue for pardon,[2] thus decisively declaring for the Catholic cause – a fateful decision for the Giffard family, who were to remain recusant for many generations.

Marriages and Family
1. Dorothy Montgomery was Thomas Giffard's first wife. She was the daughter and heiress of Sir John Montgomery of Cubley, Derbyshire and Elizabeth Gresley. He married Dorothy at, or shortly after, his father's second marriage to the widowed Elizabeth Gresley, around 1515. She brought him substantial estates in Staffordshire and Derbyshire. Dorothy had died by 1529. They had at least one surviving child, a daughter named Elizabeth, but no male heir.
2. Ursula Throckmorton was Giffard's second wife. She was the daughter of Robert Throckmorton of Coughton Court, Warwickshire, and Elizabeth Baynham. Her brother, George Throckmorton, was an MP and prominent politician of strongly Catholic sympathies. Giffard had at least nine children with Ursula:[3]
Sir Thomas died on 27 May 1560 and was buried in Brewood parish church. An impressive tomb was later constructed, with life-sized effigies of himself and both his wives.

References He was Sheriff of Stafford at Staffordshire (West Midlands), England.¹

     Ursula Throckmorton of Coughton married Sir Thomas Giffard of Chillington, son of Sir John Giffard Knt., of Chillington, Staffordshire and Joan Hoorde of Bridgnorth, on 20 October 1531
;
Per Genealogics: date of contract or similar
Family     Sir Thomas Giffard, of Chillington, b. Est 1490 d. 27 May 1560 (Age ~ 70 years)
Marriage     20 Oct 1531
Notes      Date is of contract or similar.
Children      
+     1. Isabel Giffard
+     2. Dorothy Giffard
+     3. John Giffard, b. Est 1535 d. 1612, Chillington Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 77 years)
+     4. Anne Giffard, of Chillington.¹
Ursula Throckmorton of Coughton died before 17 March 1581.¹
Ursula Throckmorton of Coughton was buried on 17 March 1581 .¹
     Reference:
Genealogics cites:

     Sir John Montgomery of Cubley married Elizabeth Gresley, daughter of Sir Thomas Gresley of Drakelow and Anne Ferrers,
;
One of her two husbands.^4,1
Sir John Montgomery of Cubley died on 7 April 1513.¹
     Reference:
Genealogics cites: [S00119] Paget, Gerald, The Lineage and Ancestry of H.R.H. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Edinburgh, 1977. P 58143.¹

     John Giffard 9th of Chillington died between 1400 and 1409.¹
     Reference:
Genealogics cites:

     William de Egerton of Caldecote married Ellen de Ives (Ince/Ines), daughter of Aynon de Ives (Ince/Ines) and Ellen de Haukeston.^3,1

William de Egerton of Caldecote died on 8 October 1421.¹
     Reference:
Genealogics cites: [S01535] Ormerod, George & Thomas Helsby, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester 2nd Edition. 2:691.¹