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This page edited and hosted by [mailto:wjhonson@aol.com Will Johnson], Professional Genealogist.

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Page 115, "Bletsoe"
16.(2).i "Cresset Saint John" "...John Butler.... He married (2nd) after 1566 Mary Gedge, widow of Christopher Harris, Esq and daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Gedge, Esq of Shenfield, Essex."

Correction: Mary Gedge was married three times.  By her first husband Christopher Harris of Shenfield jure uxoris, she had at least two children: William and Edward; before Christopher died in 1571.  Sometime between 1580 and 1584 she married the much younger Anthony Berners of Freyerning Hall at which time Freyerning was assigned as her dower lands.  After they had one son also Anthony, Anthony Sr. died by 1588.  Anthony the baby was assigned a moeity of Freyerning Hall, while Griseld (Berners) Baker was assigned the other moeity, as heiress of her father, Anthony Sr's elder uncle.  Griself sued Mary Gedge after Mary had married for the third time between 1584 and 1589 to John Butler, as Griseld felt that Mary should not have the dower manor, being now remarried.  Mary Gedge was yet living in 1616, at Thoby, which her son Anthony had assigned her.
-This correction submit by Will Johnson, 27 Mar 2008
-----
Subj:	 RE: Gedge & Butler problems<br>
Date:	6/2/2008 2:31:18 PM Pacific Daylight Time<br>
From:	hw.bradley@verizon.net (Hal Bradley)<br>
To:	gen-medieval@rootsweb.com ('Gen-Medieval (E-mail)')<br>

In the current issue of the Register (as noted previously), William Fiske
notes a Chancery Court Case that contradicts the 1552 Visitation of Essex.
The National Archives (C2/Eliz/B31/51) dates this document between 1588 and
1603 and provides a synopsis which reads, "John Butler esquire and his wife
Mary v Thomas Baker esquire, his wife Grizel and Anthony Barners. Claim of
dower in right of plaintiff Mary. The manor of Hinton, Gloucestershire. The
manors of Tobye and Fryerning, and lands in the parishes of Margaretting and
Mountnessing, part of which were assured to the plaintiff by her former
husband Anthony Berners. Pedigree of the family of Berners stated. Short
title: Butler v Baker etc." [End Quote]

I have not seen the document in full, but suspect that this synopsis is in
error and is not contemporary evidence of the actual marriages of Mary
Gedge. As noted previously, Mary Gedge allegedly married (1) Christopher
Harris (d. 1571), (2) Anthony Berners (d. aft 1583) and (3) John Butler. By
her third husband Mary was the mother of four children: Elizabeth, Sarah,
Nathaniel and James. Noting the chronological difficulty with this
reconstruction, I submit the following correction to PA3 as well as William
Fiske's article.

Mary Gedge was born in 1540 or 1541 being age 14 at her father's death in
Aug. 1555 (Morant, Essex, 2:74). The 1552 Visitation of Essex shows that
Mary, daughter of James Gedge, was married to (1) Christopher Harris and (2)
Leonard Berners. The 1558 Vis. of Essex shows the unnamed dau. of James
Gedge as the wife of Leonard Berners. Both Visitations show that Leonard &
Mary (Gedge) Berners were the parents of Anthony Berners. The 1558 Vis. of
Essex also indicates that the wife of Anthony Berners was Elizabeth, dau. of
George Carleton, not Mary Gedge. The Vis. of Oxford (Harleian Society, v. 5,
p. 123) also shows the marriage of Anthony Berners & Elizabeth Carleton.
Elizabeth's parents were George Carleton & Elizabeth Mohun. Elizabeth Mohun
was the widow of Edward Cope (d. 1557).

Since these Visitations were produced in the lifetime of Mary Gedge, it is
strong evidence that her husband was Leonard Berners, not Anthony Berners
and that Anthony Berners did not marry Mary Gedge, but Elizabeth Carleton.
This would also alleviate the problem of Mary Gedge marrying someone twenty
years her junior, as Anthony Berners was.

The correct identity of Mary Gedge's husbands should be (1) Leonard Berners,
(2) Christopher Harris and (3) John Butler.

I would like to thank Michael Andrews-Reading for bringing the "Cope of
Bramshill" Manuscript Collection to my attention. It has helped tremendously
in sorting out this family. Therein is the following record:


Level 	  Item
FindingNo     43M48/131/1
Extent 	  1 item
Title 	  Conveyance (bargain and sale) of an annuity of L30 from lands at
Holbeach and Holbeach Hurn, Lincs, purchased by George Carlton from John
Davy, and mentioned in indenture of same date between Anthony Berners and
Elizabeth, and Sir Anthiny Cope of Hanwell, Oxon
Date   	 19 May 1593

Description

(i) Anthony Berners of Thoby, Essex, esq, and Elizabeth, his wife
(ii) John Blondevile of Hanwell, Oxon, yeoman, and John Gill of Banbury Oxon

Signed. Seal missing.
Notes of enrolment, etc. [End Record]

This clearly shows that Anthony Berners was still alive in 1593. Mary Gedge
could not have been his widow, married John Butler, and had four Butler
children. This record also shows that Anthony Berner's wife was "Elizabeth",
not Mary. Sir Anthony Cope was the elder half-brother of Elizabeth Carleton.
Fortunately, the marriage settlement for Anthony Berners & Elizabeth
Carleton still survives:

Level 	  Item
FindingNo     43M48/130
Extent 	  1 item
Title 	  Settlement on the marriage (tripartite indenture) of Anthony
Barners of Licolns Inn, esq, and Elizabeth Carlton, daughter of George
Carlton of Overstone, Northants, esq
Date 	        15 Feb 1582

Description: Includes covenant by Carlton to Barners to pay L100 within 3
years towards furniture, and a grant of annuity of L30 from lands in
Holbeach, and Holbeach Hurn, Lincs, purchased from John Davy, to hold to
John Barners, his wife and heirs, with remainder upon default of issue to
John Butler of Thobye House, Essex, and Mary, his wife, and their heirs
(Butler is third party to the deed); clauses to effect that Carlton's seisin
is assured, and that lands are worth L40, with proviso for ending annuity
upon payment by Carlton of L450.
Signed by second and third parties. 4 seal tags, 3 seals. [End Record]

This record, coupled with the Vis. of Oxford & Vis. of Essex (which both
indicate that Anthony Berners married Elizabeth Carleton), should be enough
to refute the error in the synopsis of the Chancery Court Case presented at
the beginning of this post.

Now for Mary Gedge's marriages. Trans. of the Essex Arch. Society (1855) p.
192 indicates that Leonard Berners died in 1564. Wilde's "Ingatestone and
the Essex Great Road with Fryerning" (Oxford, 1913), p. 107, provides a
description of the monumental brass for Leonard Berners:

"Here under lyeth buryed the body of Leonard Berners late o ... Thyrde sonne
and heyre of Wyllm Berners thelder esquire who deces ... bruary, in the
yeare of oure Lorde God 1563 whose soule we truste d ... Leonard had to wife
Mary Theldest dawter and one of the heire ... Shenfylde, in the countye of
Essex, esquire, by whom she had yssue William A ..." [End Quote]

Though the brass is damaged it appears that Leonard Berners died in February
1563[/4?]. By Mary Gedge, Leonard had two sons, William and Anthony. As
Anthony Berners was born in 1562, he appears to be the younger son.
Apparently William died before Anthony reached his majority.

Mary Gedge married (2) Christopher Harris who died 26 Dec. 1571 [Morant,
Essex, 2:74]. She married (3) John Butler. Michael also pointed out that the
ODNB indicates that Nathaniel Butler, son of John & Mary (Gedge) Butler, was
born circa 1577. If John Butler married Mary (Gedge) (Berners) Harris in
1572 or 1573, then there would be no chronological difficulties with her
being the mother of John Butler's four youngest children as found in the
1612 Vis. of Essex, pp. 169 & 170.

In summary, Mary Gedge, daughter of James Gedge (d. 1555) was born 1540/1.
She married (1) Leonard Berners (d. 1563[/4?]) having issue two sons,
William & Anthony Berners. She married (2) Christopher Harris (d. 1571). She
married (3) John Butler (d. 1614) and had issue 4 children: Elizabeth,
Sarah, Nathaniel & James.

Hal Bradley