John Crosby I
Our ancestor John Crosby was part of the heroic, civic-minded Arthurian Generation. His son John was part of the adaptive Humanist Generation.
According to Dr. Joseph Gardner Bartlett and his wife, Elizabeth French Bartlett, John Crosby was from Alne and Stillingfleet, Yorkshire. (Stillingfleet is about five miles due south of the city of York.) Two significant and horribly bloody battles of the War of the Roses were waged within a few miles of John's farm holdings, when he was in his twenties: The Battle of Wakefield, which the Red Roses won, and the Battle of Towton, which the White Roses won. It is difficult to imagine these battles not having some impact on his life, but we can only speculate.
Year by year in the life of John Crosby I
The life of John Crosby I in its historical context
| Birth of John Crosby I | |
| Born: | About 1440 |
| Birthplace: | Probably Alne or Stillingfleet, Yorkshire, England |
| Parents No information available | |
| Siblings No information available | |
| Spouse and children | |
| Wife: | No information available |
| Son: | John Crosby II, b. 1470 (our ancestor) |
| Son: | William Crosby |
| Son: | Miles Crosby |
| Son: | Richard Crosby |
| Daughter: | Emme Crosby |
| Daughter: | Agnes Crosby |
| Son: | Robert Crosby |
| Other information | |
| Occupation: | Yeoman farmer? |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic |
| Death of John Crosby I | |
| Died: | Between 20 April (date of will) and 8 June (date of probate)
1502 (probably of old age [about 62 years old]) |
| Burial place: | Choir of Parish Church, Stillingfleet, Yorkshire, England |
| Back to the top | |
Will of John Crosby I
John Crosby's will, part of the Bartlett collection at the NEHGS, was originally written in Latin. The following translation is what was presented in genealogist Paul W. Prindle's article in the Register:
To be buried in the choir of the parish church of Stillyngfleyte. To the church of Stilyngfleyte £4. To the four orders of the bretherene of York, 2s. To my son John, 6s 8d. to my son Richard, 10 sheep, 2 calves and 20s. To my daughter Emme, 6s 8d. To my daughter Agnes, 6s 8d. To my son Robert, 20s. To my son Miles, the remainder of all the years which I have in a house called Gyhouse, lying in Flaworth, with the appurtenances. To John Crosby, son of Robert Crosby, a house called Boyhowse, lying in Flaworth, with appurtenances. All the residue of my goods to my son William and my son Miles, they to be executors. Witness: John Mylin, Chaplain.
John's will mentioned two houses in Flaworth, Yorkshire, a village in the Parish of Alne. We have no record of the name of his wife or wives, and no wife was mentioned in his will (indicating that she predeceased him).
According to Prindle, "[M]embers of the yeomandry were almost always buried in the churchyard. The fact that John was to be buried in the choir of the church indicated his high standing in the community."
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 provided these sources:
- NEHGS - Bartlett Collection, SG/BAR/86, carton 3. Primary source for the English research in Simon Crosby the Emigrant and Prindle's NEHGR article.
- Paul W. Prindle, NEHGR, v. 119, 243, 248, Oct 1965, The Yorkshire Ancestry of the Three Crosby Sisters of Rowley, Mass.
- Children- Eleanor Davis Crosby, Simon Crosby the Emigrant, 1914, p. 5, derived from Bartlett's research.
- Will - Perorogative and Exchequer of York Wills, v. 6, p. 29, copy in Bartlett Collection.