John Hotchkiss

Personal and Family Information

John was born about 1485 in Shropshire, England, the son of Thomas Hotchkiss / Hoskins and UNKNOWN1.

He died about 1541. The place is not known.

He had two marriages/partners. His first wife was Mary, who he married in ABT 1503. The place has not been found. They had no known children.

His second wife was Jane, who he married in ABT 1505. The place has not been found. Their twelve known children were John (c1505->1559), Leaonard (c1506-?), UNKNOWN (c1508-?), Richard (c1510-1586), Lawrence (c1512-?), Alice (c1514-?), Simon (c1515-<1542), Edith (c1516-?), Jacob (c1517-?), Agnes (c1518-c1573), Jone (c1519-c1572) and William (c1520-<1563).

Pedigree Chart (3 generations)

Events

Multimedia

JohnHotchkis...

Notes

Note 1

!Stylename: Hotchkiss, John, Sr [~1485-1541]

!Note: 1539–1542 in England - Context:

This period saw major disruption from the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which shuttered not just religious houses but also church-run hospitals, schools, and poor relief. The fallout from the Pilgrimage of Grace led to executions and heightened tension in the north. Combined with land seizures, Cromwell’s fall, royal instability, and sporadic disease outbreaks, the result was widespread displacement, hardship, and family fragmentation. These conditions likely explain the high rate of early deaths, remarriages, and child relocations during this time.

!Notes: John Hotchkiss, son of Sir Thomas Hotchkiss , was pivotal in establishing the family's Somerset branch in the early 16th century. Motivated by family ties to Archdeacon David Hoskins of Exeter, John migrated from the ancestral region around Shropshire or the Welsh Marches toward southwestern England. Initially marrying Mary , who likely died shortly after childbirth, he remarried soon after to Jane , with whom he had additional children, including Richard Hotchkiss . By settling at Tickenham, Somerset, John not only extended his family's geographical reach but also created a lasting legacy, with his father, Sir Thomas, eventually joining him in Tickenham, reinforcing their influence in the region.

Research Notes and Observations:

- John’s burial is the earliest record of a Hotchkiss-related surname in the Tickenham parish registers, which began in 1538, strongly indicating he was the progenitor of this Somerset line.

- His death immediately precedes several marriages recorded in the same parish, likely involving his children—particularly daughters and possibly a son—who would have needed support or alliances following their father's passing, a common pattern observed after the death of family patriarchs in this era.

- Limited surviving records obscure definitive details of John's early life. His father is plausibly identified as Sir Thomas Hotchkiss. Although direct probate confirmation is unavailable—since John predeceased Sir Thomas and thus was not mentioned in the father's later will—the alignment of dates, geography, and familial patterns supports this identification strongly.

- John’s marriage and the early death of his first wife, Mary, fit well-established historical patterns of childbirth-related mortality and subsequent remarriage.

- Due to sparse documentation, John remains the only viable male ancestor identified in the immediate area to have fathered known local descendants such as Jone. The absence of earlier parish records for Tickenham limits definitive genealogical verification.

!Note: This is the only male listed in the area who could have been Jone’s father, but no other evidence. Nearby records start about 1443, but Tickenham only started in 1538. John’s burial was the first record with a Hotchkiss related name. It was immediately followed by a number of marriages, which I am going to guess were his now unsupported daughters and son.

!Note: There were only a limitted number of known men with even a remotely similar surname available as his possible father. Richard works well, and John would have died before his father and so not appeared in his will.

!Note: Died before father’s will.

!Source: The National Archives' catalogue https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7481524

C - Records created, acquired, and inherited by Chancery, and also of the Wardrobe, Royal Household, Exchequer and various commissions

Division within C - Records of Equity Side: the Six Clerks

C 1 - Court of Chancery: Six Clerks Office: Early Pleadings and Proceedings, Richard II to Philip and Mary

C 1/788 - Chancery pleadings addressed to Sir Thomas Audley as Lord Chancellor. Detailed descriptions at item level

Catalogue description Short title: Ferrant v Jepis. Plaintiffs: William Ferrant alias Austen, priest....

Reference: C 1/788/8-9

Description:

Short title: Ferrant v Jepis.

Plaintiffs: William Ferrant alias Austen, priest.

Defendants: Katherine, late the wife of John Jepis , and John Hodgekyn.

Subject: Part price of lands in [Saffron] Walden. Essex

Date: 1533-1538

Held by: The National Archives, Kew

Legal status: Public Record

Closure status: Open Document, Open Description

Note: John’s daughter Jone was married in South Weald, Essex on 6 Jun 1539 to Richard Barker, implying that John had some dealings with people there about this time. This is 27.67 miles from Saffron Walden, Essex.

!Source: Staffordshire, Dioceses Of Lichfield And Coventry Wills And Probate 1521-1860

https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FSTAFF%2FWILLS%2F081052&tab=this

First name John

Series description Registered wills and original wills, administrations and inventories, 1494-1860, and, act books, 1532-1638 for Diocese of Lichfield Episcopal Consistory Court

Last name Handeley

Piece description Calendar of wills and admons.

Year 1534

Piece surname range A-L

Will year 1534

Piece year range 1494-1650

Parish Wroxeter

Record set Staffordshire, Dioceses Of Lichfield And Coventry Wills And Probate 1521-1860

Place Wroxeter, Shropshire, England

Category Birth, Marriage & Death

County Shropshire

Subcategory Wills & Probate

Country England

Collections from England, Great Britain

Image: https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=gbprs%2fstaff%2f007620811%2f00040&parentid=gbprs%2fstaff%2fwills%2f310143Transcription:

In dei nomine Amen +domini. Anno domini one millisimo quingentesimo and triginta tertio de duo decimo mensis

Ego, Johannes Hachkys, ego compos mentis et sanae memorie, facio testamentum meum in dio nomine, inspectis

I bequeath my soll to almight god & to hys blesed maiden Mary & to all the holy company of s[aints]

& my body to buryd yn the chyrchyarde of Wroxetor. Item I bequeth to the church of Wroxeter vi.

Item I bequeth to my daghter Jone £9 5s. I bequeth the resydue of my goodes my body buryed & my

payed to against wiffe's for two sons acadamy. the Sum equaly to be divided betwynst them. & Item & make myne ag-

[ag]reed my wiffe bequethed & my | Son. Also I wyll that yt be so recorded y' my testament that my sonynlaw jo-

[Jo]hannes Loyd acquiesces to plege to Wyllyam Hoskys for vjxx & viij d to pay at Ascension day the next day year

regressed & the same day forfeyted. Item the same John aforementioned & geven the no' go lyst agaynst for as

regards royalties. Item as concerns to all these feoffees the noted easementes against for d-

[D]idycate my gostly father's & other chattels regarding with many other the day & the yere

above sayd.

Translation:

In the name of God Amen + Lord. In the year of the Lord one thousand five hundred and on the thirty-third of the twelfth month

I, Johannes Hachkys, am of sound mind and with sound memory, I make my testament in the name of God, having observed....

[the rest is old English.]

Note: Likley will registration only. William is likely his uncle William Hotchkiss, burgess and pannarius of Salop [abt 1475 - abt 1545].

!Source: Somerset Burial Index https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FSOMERSET%2FBUR%2F001720790

First name John

Page 70

Last name Hoskings

Archive Somerset Archives

Death year -

Archive reference D/P/TICK 2/1/1

Burial year 1541

Event type Baptisms, marriages & burials

Burial date 14 Nov 1541

Year range 1538-1812

Denomination Anglican

Record set Somerset Burial Index

Place Tickenham

Category Birth, Marriage & Death

County Somerset

Subcategory Parish Burials

Country England

Collections from England, Great Britain

Document type Parish records

!Source: Devon Marriages And Banns https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FDEV%2FMAR%2F96653%2F1&tab=this

First name Richard

Spouse's age -

Last name Hincks <<<< I read this as Hawks

County Devon

Birth year -

Country England

Age -

Archive South West Heritage Trust

Marriage year 1541

Archive reference 2946A/PR/1/1

Marriage date 05 Jun 1541

Record set Devon Marriages And Banns

Place Exeter, St Petrock

Category Birth, Marriage & Death

Denomination Anglican

Subcategory Parish Marriages

Spouse's first name Jane

Collections from England, Great Britain

Spouse's last name Putt

Image: https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=GBPRS%2FDEV%2F007119329%2F00120&parentid=GBPRS%2FDEV%2FMAR%2F96653%2F1

June — The vth of June Annu diu 1541 Richard Hawks and Jane Putt were married.If they told me it was Hwwks, I would have believed that….