Generation IX
Euseby Isham
1486–1546
Life
Euseby Isham was born on 11 December 1486 at Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England,? the son and heir of Thomas Isham and Ellen Vere.1 He lived at Ringstead nearly all his life upon a leasehold farm of the Mordaunts, and in the records of the royal courts he is regularly styled Euseby Isham of Ringstead, gentleman.2 His wife, as appears by the brass of his son John Isham, was Anne Pulton, eldest daughter of Giles Pulton of Desborough, Northamptonshire, esquire, by Katherine, daughter of Thomas Lovett of Astwell.1 He is said on his son John's monument to have had twenty children, of whom five sons and five daughters can be reckoned.2 Their sons included Giles, later of Pytchley; Robert, the parson of Pytchley; and John, Gregory and Henry, who became mercers of London.1
From his father Euseby held a messuage and forty acres of arable land at Knuston, in the parish of Irchester, held of the King as of the Duchy of Lancaster and worth forty shillings a year.3,4 In 1517 Cardinal Wolsey sent commissioners through England to inquire into enclosures and the decay of houses of husbandry.3 An inquisition taken at Northampton on 19 August 1517 before John Veysey, dean of the King's chapel, the abbot of St James by Northampton, Roger Wigston and John Hales found that the Knuston farmhouse, which had been let for husbandry for twenty years, had been allowed to fall into ruin on 6 July 1506, so that no husbandman could live there.3 Another finding said that a plough had been put down and ten people who had lived there had departed.3 Under the statute the King was entitled to half the profits of such land until the house was rebuilt, and from 1519 the Exchequer called on Euseby to account for them.5 One entry recites that it was Thomas Isham who had been seised when the house decayed, and that Euseby now held it.4,3 Euseby appeared in person before the Barons of the Exchequer in 1521-22.4 By 1524-25 he pleaded the general pardon and showed that the house had been well and sufficiently rebuilt for husbandmen to live in, and that the land was again let and occupied in tillage.6 The King's attorney, acting on the relation of Sir Richard Wingfield, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and on the oaths of neighbours of Irchester and Knuston, admitted the facts, and the Barons discharged Euseby.6 As late as 1527 a former sheriff of Northamptonshire was still seeking relief in the Exchequer over the sums he had been charged from the issues of Euseby's land at Knuston.7
Euseby was also a landlord at Denford, the parish adjoining Ringstead.? On Lady Day 1518 he let a messuage there to William Birkinshaw for two years.8 Birkinshaw let the hall, two chambers, a kiln, a stable and a dovecote stand uncovered so that the timber rotted in the rain, and Euseby sued him for waste in the Court of Common Pleas.9 A sheriff's inquisition held at Denford on 8 July 1521 found the waste, and Euseby recovered the places wasted together with treble damages.8 In Michaelmas term 1522 he joined Thomas Lovett and John Mathew, esquires, Thomas Brokes, Miles Hampden and James Bury in recovering a manor against Edward Wykeham.10 In Easter term 1523 he and Anne conveyed a messuage with thirty acres of land, eight acres of meadow and twelve acres of pasture in Barton Seagrave, Northamptonshire, by common recovery to Edmund Knightley, Edward Montagu, William Staunton and John Thirley.11,12
In 1529-30 Euseby and George Roberts served as chief constables of the hundred of Higham Ferrers, in which Ringstead lies.13 He used the Common Pleas to recover money owed to him, suing Robert Newnton of Denford, alias of Podington, Bedfordshire, yeoman, for forty pounds in 1534.14,15 He was himself sued in 1534-35 for forty marks by Geoffrey Blythe, clerk, executor of Geoffrey Blythe, late Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield; when he did not appear, outlawry process was begun and proclamation ordered in Northamptonshire.16,17 In 1541-42 he sued Thomas Marshall, a Ringstead husbandman, who knowingly kept a boar accustomed to attack other animals; it had gored two of Euseby's boars, worth forty shillings, so that they died. Euseby claimed ten pounds in damages, Marshall pleaded not guilty, and the case was put to a jury.18,19
By 1544 Euseby was described as late of Ringstead, having moved to Pytchley.20,21 In that year William Polk sued him for a debt of four pounds ten shillings,20 and in Easter term 1546 Euseby was suing John Bull, a Pytchley husbandman, for debt.22 His will of 16 August 1546 was proved 11 December 1546, apparently by Anne the relict and Robert Isham the son, whom he made his executors.23,24 In this will he asked for burial in the church of All Saints in Pytchley, and gave legacies to the poor folk of Isham, Pytchley and Grafton.23 Anne survived her husband.23 Her father Giles Pulton, by his will of 12 February 1549, made Robert Isham, the parson of Pytchley, one of his overseers, and Robert in turn gave a legacy of a mark to the parish of Desborough 'whereoute one of my parents did proceade.'25 A jury panel enrolled in the Common Pleas in 1548 still listed Euseby Isham of Ringstead, gentleman, among the freeholders summoned to an assize at Northampton, evidently from an out-of-date list.26
Euseby should not be confused with Euseby Catesby of Benefield, Northamptonshire, gentleman usher of the King's chamber, who appears often in Exchequer and Common Pleas records of the same period,? nor with his grandson Euseby Isham of Pytchley, esquire, who was later sheriff of Northamptonshire.27
- Visit. Northants. (Metcalfe) pp.181–2: Isham of Pitchley / Braunston / Lamport
- Northamptonshire Families (1906): Euseby Isham of Ringstead (d. 1546) and Anne Pulton
- Inquisitions of 1517 find Euseby Isham let his house at Knuston decay, Exchequer memoranda roll E 368/298 (1524-25)
- Euseby Isham appears in person in the Knuston depopulation case, Exchequer memoranda roll E 368/295 (1521-22)
- Euseby Isham called to account for the issues of a decayed messuage at Knuston, Northamptonshire, Exchequer memoranda roll E 368/293 (1519-20)
- Euseby Isham discharged in the Knuston depopulation case after rebuilding the house, Exchequer memoranda roll E 368/298 (1524-25)
- Late sheriff of Northamptonshire seeks relief over issues of Euseby Isham's land at Knuston, Exchequer of Pleas E 13/204 (1527)
- Euseby Isham recovers treble damages from William Birkinshaw for waste at Denford, Northamptonshire, Common Pleas CP 40/1033 (1521)
- Euseby Isham v. William Birkinshaw, waste of leased houses at Denford, Northamptonshire, Common Pleas CP 40/1032A (1521)
- Thomas Lovett, Euseby Isham and others recover a manor against Edward Wykeham, Common Pleas CP 40/1037 (1522)
- Edmund Knightley and others recover land in Barton Seagrave against Euseby Isham and Anne his wife, Common Pleas CP 40/1039 (1523), image 0736
- Edmund Knightley and others recover land in Barton Seagrave against Euseby Isham and Anne his wife, Common Pleas CP 40/1039 (1523), image 0737
- Euseby Isham, chief constable of Higham Ferrers hundred, Northamptonshire, Exchequer memoranda roll E 368/303 (1529-30)
- Euseby Isham, gentleman, v. Robert Newnton of Denford, debt of £40, Common Pleas CP 40/1081 (1534)
- CP 40/1079: Eusebius Isham appears by attorney
- Executor of Geoffrey Blythe, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, v. Euseby Isham of Ringstead, outlawry process, Common Pleas CP 40/1084 (1535)
- Executor of Geoffrey Blythe, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, v. Euseby Isham of Ringstead, debt of 40 marks, Common Pleas CP 40/1083 (1534), image 8936
- Euseby Isham, gentleman, v. Thomas Marshall of Ringstead, declaration and plea of not guilty in the boar case, Common Pleas CP 40/1115 (1542)
- Euseby Isham, gentleman, v. Thomas Marshall of Ringstead, whose boar killed two of Euseby's boars, Common Pleas CP 40/1111 (1541)
- William Polk v. Euseby Isham late of Ringstead, gentleman, debt of £4 10s, Common Pleas CP 40/1122 (1544), image 1569
- William Polk v. Euseby Isham late of Ringstead, gentleman, and William Hull of Pytchley, debts, Common Pleas CP 40/1122 (1544), image 1570
- Euseby Isham, gentleman, v. John Bull of Pytchley, husbandman, debt, Common Pleas CP 40/1128 (1546)
- Will of Euseby Isham of Pytchley/Ringstead, 16 Aug 1546, proved Dec 1546 (PCC; Longden)
- Will of "Euseby" Isham
- Will of Robert Isham, parson of Pytchley, 6 Apr 1564, proved 3 Nov 1568 (P.C.C. 22 Babington)
- Euseby Isham of Ringstead, gentleman, on a jury panel for an assize at Northampton, Common Pleas CP 40/1135 (enrolled 1548)
- VCH Northants. iv, Pytchley: Isham descent, Engaynes, Staffords, Sir Euseby
? marks 3 statements for which no attached source was found.
Life sketch as written on the FamilySearch Family Tree. Footnotes link each statement to the attached source that supports it; they were matched by machine against the source summaries and should be read as a guide, not a verification.
Records
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1517
Recites inquisitions under the 1517 commission on enclosures and decay of houses. One finds that Euseby Isham was seised in fee of a messuage and 48 acres of arable in Irchester and Knuston, let and occupied in husbandry, and on 7 September 20 Henry VII caused the messuage to be thrown down, so that a plough was put do…
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1519
Euseby Isham, by John Castel his attorney, is to show why he should not render account to the King of half the issues and profits of a messuage and 40 acres of arable land at Knuston, Northamptonshire (worth 40s a year), from a date in the reign of Henry VII, under the statute against the decay of houses of husbandry. …
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1521
A day is given to Euseby Isham, present in court in his own person, until the quindene of Easter to render account to the King of half the issues and profits of a messuage and 40 acres of arable land at Knuston, Northamptonshire (worth 40s a year, held of the King). The entry recites that a Thomas I[sham] (reading unce…
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1521
Euseby [Isham] by attorney v. William Crkynshalde (Birkinshaw), waste. Euseby had let William a messuage at Denford at the Annunciation 9 Henry VIII (25 March 1518) for a term of two years; William let the hall (40s), two chambers (20s each), a kiln (20s), a stable (20s) and a dovecote (20s) stand uncovered so that the…
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1521
Euseby [Isham] by attorney sues William Byrkynshawe in a plea of waste: contrary to the statute, William committed waste, sale and destruction in the houses at Denford which Euseby had let to him for a term of years, to Euseby's disinheritance. William is attached by pledges and ordered to appear on the morrow of the A…
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1522
Warrant of attorney: Edward Wykeham by Thomas Waldram against Thomas Lovett and John Mathew, esquires, Thomas Brokes, Euseby I[sham], Miles Hampden and James Bury in a plea of land; and the same Thomas Lovett and others by their attorney against Edward Wykeham. The overlapping photograph is image 1593. Machine transcri…
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1522
Overlapping photograph of the same warrants of attorney as image 1592: Edward Wykeham by Thomas Waldram against Thomas Lovett and John Mathew, esquires, Thomas Brokes, Euseby I[sham], Miles Hampden and James Bury in a plea of land, and their cross-entry. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the ima…
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1522
Common recovery: Thomas Lovett, John Mathew, Thomas Brokes, Euseby [Isham], Miles [Hampden] and James [Bury] demand a manor and tenements (name not legible in the transcription) against Edward Wykeham, who vouches Thomas Fyssh; Fyssh defaults and the demandants recover seisin, Wykeham to have land of Fyssh to the value…
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1523
Common recovery: Edmund Knightley, esquire, Edward Montagu, William Staunton and John Thirley, by Thomas Waldram, demand against Euseby I[sham] and Anne his wife a messuage, 30 acres of land, 8 acres of meadow and 12 acres of pasture in Barton Hanred alias Barton Seagrave, Northamptonshire. Continued on image 0737. Mac…
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1523
Full entry of the recovery: Euseby and Anne, by Andrew Bernard their attorney, vouch Thomas Fysshe, present in court, who warrants; he then defaults and Edmund Knightley, Edward Montagu, William Staunton and John Thirley recover seisin of the messuage, 30 acres of land, 8 of meadow and 12 of pasture in Barton Seagrave,…
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1524
Euseby Isham pleads the general pardon and that the messuage at Knuston was well and sufficiently rebuilt and repaired by 12 December (regnal year not clearly legible) for husbandry and the dwelling of husbandmen, and has since been let and occupied in tillage with the lands. Ralph Swillington, the King's attorney, on …
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1527
A late sheriff of Northamptonshire complains that in his account he was charged with sums from the half issues of the land of Euseby Isham, a messuage and 40 acres at Knuston (13s 4d at Hilary 12 [Henry VIII], 11s 8d at Easter, 10s and 11s 7d for later terms to 15 Henry VIII), which have been answered to the King on re…
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1529
Eusebius Isham appears by attorney in Common Pleas against Robert Newenton of Denford.
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1529
In a list of the chief constables of Northamptonshire hundreds (Guilsborough, Corby and others), with sums of 12d against several: Euseby Iseham and George Robert(s), chief constables of the hundred of Higham [Ferrers]. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
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1534
Euseby Isham (Asam), gentleman, by Francis More his attorney, against Robert Newnton of [D]enford, Northamptonshire, yeoman, alias Robert Newnton of Podington, Bedfordshire, yeoman, in a plea that he render £40 which he owes; he did not come and the sheriff is ordered again to take him. Machine transcription; readings …
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1534
Geoffrey [Blythe], clerk, late archdeacon of Stafford, executor of the testament of Geoffrey [Blythe], late Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, against Euseby Isham late of Ringstead, Northamptonshire, gentleman, alias Euseby Isham of Ringstead, gentleman, in a plea that he render 40 marks; capias process. The overlappin…
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1534
Overlapping photograph of the same entry as image 8936: Geoffrey [Blythe], clerk, executor of Geoffrey late Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, against Euseby Aseham late of Ringstead, Northamptonshire, gentleman, 40 marks debt; the defendant does not come and is not found, and capias is renewed. Machine transcription; r…
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1535
Geoffrey [Blythe], clerk, late archdeacon of Stafford, executor of Geoffrey late Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, by Thomas Moreton his attorney, against Euseby Isham late of Ringstead, Northamptonshire, gentleman, alias Euseby Isham of Ringstead, gentleman, for 40 marks. The sheriff returns that he is not found; exig…
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1541
Euseby Isham, gentleman, by attorney, against Thomas Marshall late of Ringstead, Northamptonshire, husbandman, in a plea that he knowingly kept at Ringstead a boar accustomed to strike animals, which struck two boars of Euseby worth 40s so that they died. The sheriff returns nothing; capias to the quindene of Martinmas…
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1542
Euseby I[sham], gentleman, by attorney, against Thomas Marshall late of Ringstead, Northamptonshire, husbandman: the same plea that Marshall knowingly kept at Ringstead a boar accustomed to strike, which killed two of Euseby's boars worth 40s. Process continued. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against…
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1542
Thomas Marshall late of Ringstead, husbandman, was attached to answer Euseby I[sham], gentleman. Euseby, by Richard [—] his attorney, declares that on 1 September in the thirty-[third?] year of Henry VIII Marshall knowingly kept at Ringstead a boar accustomed to strike animals, which so gored two of Euseby's boars wort…
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1544
Overlapping photograph of the same entry as image 1569: William Polk against Euseby Aseham late of Ringstead, Northamptonshire, gentleman, for £4 10s, and against William Hull late of Pytchley, Northamptonshire, for 40s; they did not come, and capias is ordered. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against…
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1544
William Polk (reading uncertain), by attorney, against Euseby Isham late of Ringstead, Northamptonshire, gentleman, in a plea that he render £4 10s which he owes. The overlapping photograph is image 1570. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
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1546
Euseby Isham, gentleman, by attorney, against John Bull late of Pytchley, Northamptonshire, husbandman, in a plea that he render a sum of shillings (amount not clearly legible) which he owes; the sheriff returns nothing and capias is ordered to the quindene of Trinity. Machine transcription; readings should be checked …
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1546
Date: 1546 (will of Euseby); published 1906.
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1546
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1546
Date: 16 August 1546 (will); proved December 1546.
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1548
Panel for an assize of novel disseisin of two messuages between Thomas Sotwra (reading uncertain), plaintiff, and Alan Parker, William Franklyn and others, to be taken at Northampton on 12 August: Anthony Luffwick of Ham, gentleman, Euseby Isham of Ringstead, gentleman, John Cok of Higham Ferrers, Henry Lumley of Harle…
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1555
VCH Pytchley narrates: Gregory purchased Engaynes (fine of 1555 with Giles); Giles held a brief manor called Ishams of Robert Isham clerk as of Staffords; Staffords then to Gregory's son Euseby of Braunston; fines/recoveries 1580 (⅓ Geynes & Ishams), 1587 (Pytchley & Bassets), 1606 (Pytchley & Braunston) as Sir Euseby …
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1564
Date: 6 April 1564 (will); proved 3 November 1568.
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1624
Metcalfe prints Augustus Vincent's 1624 genealogy: Thomas Isham of Pitchley, Esq., married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Vere of Addington; their son Eusebius Isham of Pitchley, Esq., married Anne, daughter of Giles Poulton of Desborough; issue include Giles (son and heir), Robert 'a Clarke', Gregory of Braunston (m. …