Woodhouse/Richardson Salwarpe and Worcester

[t@nya]

Hi all.

I'm working on another brickwall, this time connected to my Woodhouse line of Salwarpe.

I descend from John Allen and Margery Woodhouse. Margery was the daughter of William Woodhouse 1 and (probably) his wife Margery. William, her father, left his will in 1603.

Richard Woodhouse, her brother, married Christian, and left his will in 1609. Christian may have remarried a man named Thomas Smith (he was called the father-in-law of William Woodhouse, Christian's son in his will)

William Woodhouse 2, the son of Richard and Christian, and so Margery's nephew, left his in 1640. He married Elinor Spooner, daughter of William Spooner of Worcester in 1621.

And it is that will that leads to my brickwall. In the will he mentions his "cousins" Mr Stephen Richardson, and Richard Richardson, tailor, of Worcester. What I would like to do is find out what the exactly the connection is.

From my use of online resources, as well as the wills of William, Richard, and William Woodhouse, and the wills of Stephen Richardson (1612) and his son Stephen (1665) I have worked out the following.

Stephen Richardson 1 of Salwarpe. Married to Alice. Left a will (not yet obtained) in 1599. His wife left a will in 1601. Father of Stephen Richardson 2.

Stephen Richardson 2 of Salwarpe. Possibly also citizen of Worcester. Married firstly to Sybil Dipple of Stoke Prior (marriage license 1594) (died before 1612) and secondly to Frances (surname unknown) (mentioned in husband's will). Left his will in 1612. The will indicates he had more than one child, but only his eldest son, Stephen Richardson 3. who is under the age of 21 but not, it is implied, under the age of 16, is mentioned by name. The will and other probate material also mention his brother-in-laws, Thomas Dipple of Stoke Prior and William Watkins of Dodderhill, as well as John Woodhouse (who was a witness, another son of William Woodhouse 1)

Stephen Richardson 2 was a witness of the 1603 will of William Woodhouse 1. He was also a witness to the 1608 will of Richard Woodhouse, along with his brothers-in-law Thomas Dipple and William Watkins.

I am guessing (no proof yet) that he is also the father of Richard Richardson, and possibly also of a William Richardson, who married into the same type of social circles of Stephen Richardson 3 and was living in Worcester as well.

Stephen Richardson 3. Of Salwarpe and also Worcester. Gent. Procurators General of the Constitory Court of the Lord Bishop of Worcester. Married Katherine Crosby, daughter of Robert Crosby and Katherine Berkeley, and granddaughter of Rowland Berkeley and Katherine Hayward, a very prominent Worcestershire family. Their first child I've found was baptised in 1628. Left his will in 1665. His will, unfortunately, leaves legacies to his brother and sisters without naming them.

Richard Richardson, tailor of Worcester. Married to Hester (surname unknown) who was the kinswoman of Richard Cowling of Worcester (left will 1638). Earliest child found was baptised in 1636. Later went to Knightwick, being buried there 1681. Also left a will which I have not obtained yet). Stephen Richardson 4, son of 3, also went to Knightwick, possibly around that time period.

William Richardson, possibly of Worcester. Married to Anne Edes, daughter of Richard Edes, Bishop of Worcester, and Margaret Westfaling, who married secondly Humphrey Littleton. Margaret's will of 1637 has Stephen Richardson (3?) as a witness, and Margaret's daugher, Elizabeth, by her second marriage, married a cousin of Stephen Richardson 3's wife.

That's it (almost). There are other clues that I'm leaving out, as they just give me a headache and which, are, in a way, a brickwall linked to this brickwall, so I'm leaving it for now, possibly, possibly for another post. Any feedback welcomed!

[geneius]

Having read this I then needed to find where Salwarpe was!

Have you looked at books.google.co.uk?

I put in Woodhouse of Salwarpe first entry was in latin!

Changed to Richardson of Salwarpe which brought a record of the Magna Carta so I decided to opt out! Sorry

Jx

[t@nya]

Hmm. Interesting, thank you. I might see if I can get a translation so I can, at least, know what time period it's from. From the name "Wintour Harris" I suspect it's later than I want, but the Woodhouses mentioned should be relatives anyway.

[t@nya]

Thanks for your tip, Geneius.

Due to that I searched google books for Richardson + Salwarpe and found a letter published in the Genealogist Volume 2 (1878) in which it gives more details of this family.

According to the letter, Stephen Richardson 1's (will of 1599) wife was daughter of (?) Callowe and he had three sons, Stephen, Richard, and Thomas, and two daughters Margaret and Anne.

Stephen Richardson 2 (will of 1612) married Isabella daughter of Geo. Dypole or Diple and had three sons Stephen, John, and Richard, and three daughters Mary, Christian, and Jane. Obviously there is a discrepancy here with the first name of his first wife.

Stephen Richardson 3 (will of 1665) had five sons Robert, Stephen, William, John, and Samuel, and seven daughters, Katherine, Elizabeth, Anne, Dorothy, Jane, Helen, and Anne.

Now, looking at this, the first thing I noticed was the name of Christian, Stephen Richardson 2's daughter. Since she would have been born after her father's 1594 marriage, she couldn't be the wife of Richard Woodhouse, but she certainly could have been named for her.

Then, there is Margaret, the daughter of Stephen Richardson 1. The names Margaret and Margery were often interchangeable during that time period. Could she have been the wife of William Woodhouse 1? If Stephen Richardson 2 was the brother-in-law of William Woodhouse 1 it would certainly explain why he was a witness to his will and to the will of Richard Woodhouse who would have been his nephew. If so, I would have another direct line to follow, so I musn't get my hopes up.

Sadly, the author of the letter, W.H. Richardson, doesn't give any sources for his information, something I will try and follow up on. One thing, getting that 1599 will is now a priority, as well as the 1601 one.

Too bad money is tight right now.

[t@nya]

Whilst I was walking home from my local service station (snacks!) I had a brainwave. W.H. Richardson, I have discovered, was an academic and published author. Supposing he donated his papers to an archive after his death? So, I got searching as soon as I got home, and discovered his brother had donated his papers to the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, in 1910 (W.H had died in Dec 1909). Now I just need to find a researcher who can search the papers for me. And the money to do so.

[t@nya]

Well, I've just received evidence of a negative sort. I hired a genealogist to get three Richardson wills and one of Anne Watkins 1634 Dodderhill, who I think may have been the daughter of Stephen Richardson 2

The only evidence relevant to my brick wall appeared in the 1599 will of Stephen Richardson 1, in which he mentioned his daughter Margaret Knight, which means she was not the Margery who was the wife of William Woodhouse. Also, there's no Woodhouse among the legatees or witnesses.

I'm now feeling a bit discouraged. I really wanted to be the descendant of the Richardson family who, among other things, had a court of arms.

Still, there's always the Richardson papers: I've hired a researcher to look into them, and she's going to do so in a couple of weeks. Also, I've decided to check out the Dipple family of Stoke Prior. Maybe the connection is with Richard Woodhouse's wife Christian. Could she have been Stephen Richardson 2's wife's sister? I don't know her maiden name so it's possible. I've got some Dipple wills to order, also one Knight one. I may as well follow up on that lead as well, just to be thorough.

[t@nya]

Well, I've found the link. I received the will of George Dipple of Stoke Prior in the mail today. He mentions his daughters Sybil Richardson and Christian Woodhouse, meaning that the wives of Stephen Richardson 1 and Richard Richardson were sisters.

Though this solves the mystery, it does mean that I am not descended from the Richardson family myself.

Oh well, at least I have another maiden name to add to my tree: I've long wondered who Christian was and where she came from.

And, if I ever get in contact with a descendant of that branch of the Richardson family I have good news for them.

[t@nya]

Oops, I meant to say the wife of Richard Woodhouse. I'm a bit depressed about running out of brick walls that are solveable.

[christanel]

Hi

You should be proud of your very fine effort in getting back as far as you have and sorting it all out.

I am still trying to sort out a ggrandfather born in 1851 to a promiscuous mother. Why weren't my lot rich enough to leave wills.

Great work t@nya and thank you for coming back and letting us know the results of your perseverance.

Christina

[Neil Wilson]

Hi T@nya
if your Woodhouse line ever get back to Matlock, Derbyshire, give me a shout