Thomas 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.
Thomas and his siblings were part of the idealistic Reformation Generation. His father was part of the adaptive Humanist Generation. His children were part of the pragmatic Picaresque Generation.
Robert Aske of Doncaster's "Pilgrimage of Grace," a revolt against the dissolution of the monesteries in 1536 (when our ancestor Thomas was 31), consumed all of Yorkshire until its brutal suppression the following year, and we can only speculate how the uprising might have affected Thomas and his family.
Year by year in the life of Thomas Crosby
The life of Thomas Crosby in its historical context
| Birth of Thomas Crosby | ||
| Born: | About 1505 | |
| Birthplace: | Yorkshire, England | |
| Parents | ||
| Father: | John Crosby II, b. 1470 (our ancestor) | |
| Mother: | No information available | |
| Siblings | ||
| Brother: | Robert Crosby, b. about 1495 On the 1524 subsidy list [The Bartlett Collection at NEHGS probably has more information.] | |
| Brother: | Alan Crosby On the 1528 rental list for Holme-upon-Spaulding-Moor, Yorkshire, England | |
| Brother: | James Crosby On the 1528 rental list for Holme-upon-Spaulding-Moor, Yorkshire, England [The Bartlett Collection at NEHGS probably has more information.] | |
| Brother: | Richard Crosby On the 1528 rental list for Holme-upon-Spaulding-Moor, Yorkshire, England [The Bartlett Collection at NEHGS probably has more information.] | |
| Spouse and children | ||
| Wife: | Jennet Foster (our ancestor) (daughter of John [d. ca. 1552] and Isabel [d. 1552/53] Foster?, our ancestors(1)) According to William Lander (176 Gieger Rd., Cleveland, TN. 37312, WLander@aol.com): "Jennet's maiden name is not known, but the Bartlett Collection of the NEHGS contains the will of Isabel Foster, widow of John Foster of Holme, dated 26 Dec 1552 and probated 4 Feb. 1552/53, in which a bequest was made to 'Jane Crosbye my daughter.' Prindle [see "Sources" at the bottom of this page] notes that Jane Crosby was clearly her daughter by another husband, since John Foster had not mentioned a daughter named Jane in his will of 7 Nov. 1552, and speculates that Isabel may have been a sister or half-sister to 'my brother Robert Sutton,' whose children she bequeathed to in her will. Prindle continues with a reasoned assessment of the possibility of this 'Jane Crosbye,' being identical with Jenett, the wife of THOMAS CROSBY. In doing so, he rules out THOMAS's first cousin, Thomas Crosby (son of Miles Crosby), who also resided in Holme, and who also had a wife named Jennett, she being the widow of John Bell. Prindle continues by noting the fact that THOMAS CROSBY'S Will was witnessed by a John Foster, providing an additional link with the Foster family of Holme and concludes that 'it seems probable (italics mine) that THOMAS CROSBY's wife Jennet was 'identical with Jane, daughter of Isabel Foster.' He finishes this by hoping that 'clarification of these points will be forthcoming.'" The "first cousin, Thomas Crosby (son of Miles Crosby)," referred to in the preceding paragraph was the great grandfather of Simeon (Simon?) Crosby, of London, who emigrated to New England in May of 1635 and settled in Cambridge, MA. He is mentioned on the page of Constance Brigham, as the husband of Constance's sister Ann. Married 1530 Probably in Holme upon Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England | |
| Daughter: | Agnes Crosby prob. b. Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England | |
| Son: | Michael Crosby prob. b. Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England [The Bartlett Collection at NEHGS probably has more information.] | |
| Son: | James Crosby prob. b. Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England | |
| Son: | Richard Crosby, 1532-1586 (our ancestor) | |
| Daughter: | Alice Crosby prob. b. Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England | |
| Son: | Robert Crosby prob. b. Holme-upon-Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England | |
| Other information | ||
| Occupation: | Yeoman farmer? | |
| Religion: | Born Roman Catholic; prob. became Church of England adherent (Anglican) at the age of 29 with the 1534 Act of Supremacy | |
| Death of Thomas Crosby | ||
| Died: | Between 4 August (date of will) and 10 October (date of probate)
1555 (probably of old age [about 50 years old]) | |
| Deathplace: | Holme upon Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England | |
| Back to the top | ||
Will of Thomas Crosby
Genealogist Paul W. Prindle derived the will of Thomas Crosby, which the Bartlett Collection obtained from York Wills:
Soule to God, St. Mary, and all the Holy Company of Heaven; to be buried in church yard of Holme. To Wife Jennet Crosbye - - a yoke of oxen, son Richard Crosby - a brown stott. Son Michaell - 10 ewes, etc. Son James Crosbye - a pair of wayne sheres. Daughters Agnes and Alice Crosbie, such cattell as was delivered to them. Elizabeth Crosbie, a bushel of rye, and to yer youngest son a yowe, at lawful age. To Margaret and Jennet Crosbye, my sons daughter's, a lamb each. To Sons Robert and Rycharde Crosbye, doublets. To my children James and Alice Crosbye, sheep in the tenure of Thomas Barker and Thomas Johnson. To daughters Agnes and Alice Crosby, two formes. To sons Richard and James Crosbye, all lands in Fowlaye in the fields of Holme. All residue of goods to my wife Jennet and sons Richarde, Mychaell, and James Crosbie, they to be esecutors. Witnesses: John Horman, John Foster, Matthew Millington.
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:
- 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.
- Eleanor Davis Crosby, Simon Crosby the Emigrant, 1914, p. 5, derived from Bartlett's research.
- Will - Perorogative and Exchequer of York Wills, v. 10, p. 20, derived from Bartlett's research.