The families of Holland and Whitfield shared associations in East Sussex/Kent:

ESRO, ref. PAR498/24/2/1. 13 Apr. 1670: Agreement between the Churchwardens and Overseers of Wadhurst concerning the disposal of the arrears of Whitfield’s charity of the £22 received by the feoffees of Rowfant (Roughfant) Lands and other lands given by the ancestors of Mr Whitfield, £18 3s 0d has been allowed against the costs of recovery of the trust and £3 17s 0d bestowed on the poor; the deficit of £7 17s 0d has been taken from last year’s poor rate.

Records of Wadhurst United Charities, ESRO AMS5813:

The endowment of the charity, established by deed of 1623 (5 below), consisted of three cottages at Wadhurst and an annuity of £10 charges on John Whitfield’s ironworks at Rowfant, in Worth.

AMS5813/1. 6 June 1580: Bargain and sale for £590. Nicholas Saunder of Epsom Surrey esq to Robert Whitfelde of Worth gent and his son William Whitfelde inc. 3. Parcels called Saunders Fields, i.e. Glovers, Henles Hooke, meadow called Cutmore, Glovers Meadow, 2 closes called Saunders Fields alias Popes Fields, occupied by James Jurden and William Saunders.
AMS5813/2. 29 June 1615: Copy variation of settlement. Thomas Whitfeld of Mortlake Surrey esq with Edward Culpepper of Wakehurst [in Ardingly] knight and John Whitfeld of Lincoln’s Inn Middlesex gent, son and heir of TW and husband of Elizabeth daughter of EC. In exchange for land in Romney Marsh, formerly part of Elizabeth’s jointure, TW will stand seised of 1. Land (80a) called Gregoryes and Sparrowes, in Wadhurst 2. Land (80a) called Gouldes, Snape and Highames, in Wadhurst 3. Land (60a) called Carteres, Rownden and Rownden Meade, in Wadhurst and Lamberhurst 4. Land (44a) called Remisses and Calhill, in Lamberhurst.
AMS5813/3. 25 Mar. 1618: Grant of annuity of £30. John Whitfield of Worth gent to his father for £300 £30 charged on Castlehouse and lands in 1 above (64a) and on ironwork or forge, workmen’s houses and coal houses at Rowfant in Worth, and on wood, coppice and rough ground part of Rowfant (300a) lately conveyed to JW by TW.
AMS5813/4. 28 May 1622. Articles of agreement Thomas Whitfeild of London gent with John Whitfeild of Worth gent TW proposes to assign £10 of the annuity in AMS5813/3 above to the parish of Wadhurst and £10 to the parish of Worth by deed or will, which sums are to be paid by JW, who will forfeit £3 6s 8d for every default.
AMS5813/5. 20 Mar. 1623: Conveyance in trust Thomas Whitfeild of the Inner Temple London gent to John Hatley clerk, vicar of Wadhurst, William Fowle, Thomas Saunder and Robert Wemborne gents, Alexander Butcher and William Weston junior yeomen, all of Wadhurst 3 dwelling houses with land in Wadhurst, 2 of which abutt E on Sparrowes Green, the third in or near Weeke quarter, inhabited by 2 poor couples In trust to place such poor persons of Wadhurst therein as they shall see fit, relatives of TW aged over 40 without dwellings to be preferred.
AMS5813/6. 9 Oct. 1637: Counterpart conveyance for £800 Thomas Whitefeild of Worth esq and wife Ann to James Jordan of Charlwood gent and his brother Thomas Jordan.
AMS5813/7. 2 Feb. 1647: Feoffment Thomas Saunders of Wadhurst gent and Richard Weston senior of Wadhurst yeoman (surviving feoffees) to William Benge of Wadhurst gent and William Barham of Scragoke in Wadhurst gent Dwellinghouses in AMS5813/5. W: Richard Luck, Roland Olive, George Courthope, John Pettiward, Thomas Glover.
AMS5813/9. 2 Feb. 1647.: Assignment of annuity Thomas Saunders of Wadhurst gent and Richard Weston of Wadhurst yeoman to William Bryan gent, Edward Short gent, John Saunders (son of TS) gent, John Barham of Shoesmyth gent, David Holland mercer and Richard Weston (son of RW) of Ryseden yeoman, all of Wadhurst Annuity in AMS5813/5.
AMS5813/10. 21 Feb. 1647. Feoffment. Feoffees in AMS5813/7 to assignees in AMS5813/9 Dwelling houses in AMS5813/5 W: Richard Luck, George Courthope.
AMS5813/11. 2 Feb. 1669: Assignment to new trustees John Saunders gent (son of Thomas Saunders deceased), David Holland gent and Richard Weston junior (son of RW yeoman) surviving feoffees to John Barham of Butts gent, John Saunders of Pell gent (son of Nicholas Saunders of Pell gent deceased) all of Wadhurst Dwelling houses and annuity in AMS5813/5 above W: Joseph Dunmoll, William Fowle, John Welles.
AMS5813/12. 21 Feb. 1669:  Assignment to new trustees Assignees in AMS5813/11 to John Smith clerk vicar of Wadhurst, Nicholas Fowle gent John Saunders gent (son of Thomas Saunders gent deceased), Richard Weston yeoman (son of RW yeoman), David Holland gent and John Barham of Shoesmith gent, all of Wadhurst. Dwelling houses and annuity in AMS5813/5 above.

A WHITFIELD PEDIGREE ESTABLISHED FROM RELEVANT WILLS:

1. Robert Whitfield, of Wadhurst.
1.1. John Whitfield, fl. 1571.
1.1.1. John Whitfield.
1.1.2. Thomas Whitfield.
1.2. Robert Whitfield, fl. 1577, m. Agnes Atwood, da. of William Atwood, of Kent.
1.2.1. Thomas Whitfield, m. Mildred, da. of Edward Manning, of Greenwich.
1.2.1.1. John Whitfield, fl. 1634, m. (May 1611, in East Sheen, Surry) Elizabeth, da. of Sir Edward Culpepper, of Wakehurst.
John Whitfield of Rowfant in the parish of Worth, Sussex, Esq.; his Will was proved 3 February 1636. “To eldest son Thomas my capital messuage called Rowfaunt &c., with remainder to second son John, next to third son Robert, then to my well beloved brother Henry Whitfield, Bachelor of Divinity and rector or parson of Ockley in Surrey, and lastly to my right heirs forever. To sons John and Robert five hundred pounds apiece at ages of twenty and four years. The like sum to eldest daughter Elizabeth at twenty one or day of marriage. The same to daughter Anne at nineteen or day of marriage and also to youngest daughter Mary, at same age”.
1.2.1.1.1. Thomas Whitfield.
1.2.1.1.2. John Whitfield.
1.2.1.1.3. Robert Whitfield.
1.2.1.2. Henry Whitfield, m., Dorothy Sheafe. He was ordained and inducted as rector of St Margaret’s, Ockley, Surrey, in 1618 and ministered there until 1638. Shortly after being censured as a dissident by the High Commission Court in 1638, Whitfield resigned from his post in Ockley and recruited twenty five families, mostly farmers of Surrey and Kent, to travel to the New Haven colony, of which he became Governor.
1.2.1.2. Joan Whitfield, m. Robert Baker.
1.2.1.3. Jane Whitfield, m. Richard Porter.
1.2.1.3.1. John Porter, Esq., purchased Lamberhurst. He bore for arms, sable, three bells argent, a canton ermine. He was named in the Will of Thomas Ballard, of Pell, Wadhurst, Kent, probated 4 May 1624. “In the name of God Amen, in the year of our Lord god 1622 I Thomas Ballard of Pell in the parish of Wadhurst in the county of Sussex gent being now sick in body and dying in consideration of the uncertainty of mans life … Item I give unto my two younger sons Richard and William and their heirs all my houses and lands lying in Goudhurst in the county of Kent which I bought of Robert Austen my brother in law and the aforesaid lands and tenaments which I bought of my said kinsman Mr. John Whitfield … and do make and ordain my loving brother Mr. Richard Ballard of Lamberhurst and Mr. John Hattley of Wadhurst executors of this my last will and testament and I do give them £5 apiece for their pains and I do make overseers thereof my well beloved friend Mr. Nicholas Everfield of Hollington, Esq., and Mr. John Porter of Lamberhurst, Esq. …”. Wadhurst church has no fewer than 30 iron grave-slabs in the floor of the nave and aisles commemorating the families of Porter, Fowle, Dunmott, Barham, Luck, Holland, Saunders and Benge. The connection to the Austens is likely to be significant in the Whitfield migration to Virginia
1.2.1.3.2. Elizabeth Porter, m. Anthony Fowle.
1.2.1.4. William Whitfield, m. Mary …
1.2.1.4.1. Seven sons.

What appears to be an unexplained connection between a Harris family of Shropshire (kin of such as Richard Cocke of Bremo and his neighbour, Major William Harris, and other families of Harris settlers) is simply the result of the influence of dominant families about which others orbited, as planets around a life-sustaining sun. If genealogical constructs were to be centred on the “suns” of kinship groups a plain enough pattern emerges. It is only when individual families are the focus of research that clarity is reduced. The “suns” of the following group of associated families were the Cressetts and Lutleys of Shropshire; everything came from them; links to the Barhams, Bassanos, Cockes, Courthopes, Harris, Hollands, Pettywards, etc. In essence, unrelated families of the same name could share connections to the same influential families; being so connected was the driving force of family dynamics, as witnessed in books such as Pride and Prejudice.

1. Anthony Bassano, m. Elena Da Nazzi.
1.1. Edward Bassano (1551-1615), m. Alice Austin, 13 Jan. 1583.
1.1.1. Daniel Bassano. He acquired extensive holdings in Sussex (ESRO. DUN 30/10, February 10, 1648).
1.1.1.1. Noel Bassano.
1.1.1.1.1. Noel Bassano, witnessed the Will of Thomas Grendon. (He being a neighbour of the Astons, of Tixall).
1.2. Arthur Bassano, m. Margaret …
1.2.1. Camela Bassano, m. “Henry Whitton of Lamberhurst”, son of Jane Cressett and, m. before 1565, Thomas Whitton of Lamberhurst, Kent. Jane Cresset’s sister, Elizabeth Cressett m. Adam Lutley of Bromcroft, Shropshire, bur. 7 October 1590.
Adam Lutley’s sister, Joyce Lutley, m. John Holland Sr., enfeoffed in Lamberhurst, Kent, father of John Holland Jr., of Lamberhurst, who m. Mary Barham; having issue: David Holland, grandfather of Michael Holland of Goochland. Another sister, Thomasine Cresset, m. 2. Francis Holland of Burwarton (fl. 1606), and was thus kin of Richard Cocke of Bremo and his neighbour, Major william Harris. This Henry Whitton was the br, of Mary Whitton, who m. William Fowle, gent: He m. (2) Mary Whitton, on Jan. 13, 1606, in Frant, Sussex. By his first wife, Elizabeth Pankhurst, William Fowle was the father Helen Fowle, who m. (1622) David Barham of Wadhurst; youngest son of John Barham and Mary Courthope; brother of Mary Barham, who m. (1) John Holland Jr. of Lamberhurst, on Jun. 20, 1603, in Tonbridge, Kent, son of John Holland., b. 1535, who m., as stated, Joyce Lutley, sister of Adam Lutley, who m. Elizabeth Cressett, sister-in-law of Thomas Whitton of Lamberhurst.
1.2.2. Anthony Bassano, m. Dorothy Hinde, da. of John Hinde, Salter, of London.
1.2.2.1. John Bassano, bapt. Nov. 6, 1608., obit. 1653, m. (1) (April 1, 1635) Anne Lloyd. PCC Will proved Sept. 27, 1655
1.2.2.1.1. John Bassano.
1.2.2.1.2. Dorothie Bassano, who m. (1662) ‘Thomas Harris, of S’ Leonard, East Cheap, Salter, Widr, ab’ 26 (b. 1636), & Dorothy Bessana, of S’ Lawrence Jury, Spr, ab’ 19, her parents dead; consent of eldest brother John Bezana her guardian; at S’ Mary le Bow, London. 28 Feb. 1662‘.
1.2.2.1.3. Frances Bassano, m. John Tucker. ‘Tucker, John, of Clifford’s Inn, Middlesex, gent., 24, and Frances Bassano, spinster, 18, her parents dead, and she living with her brother, John Bassano, of Walthamstow, Essex, gent., who consents. 2 Dec. 1669’ (LML).
1.1.2. William Bassano. He held rectory lands in Ditchling, acquired through is marriage to Agnes Warren (Suss. Rec. Soc. xiv, no. 5); and was holding them as late as 1624 (Ibid. xxxiv, 43).
1.2. Lucretia Bassano, m. Nicholas Lanier, obit. May 31, 1610, East Greenwich, Kent, m. Feb. 14, 1570, All Hallows, Barking).
1.3.1. Clement Lanier, obit. 1661, m. 1627 (Kent) Hannah Collett. He was bur. in St. Alphage’s, Greenwich, Kent.
1.3.1.1. John Lanier b. Oct 1631 in Lewisham, d. in Prince George Co, VA , m. Lucrece … John Lanier’s second-cousin, Thomas Lanier, m. Jane Pettyward: Thomas Harris witnessed the Will of Sir Walter Covert in 1631. i. Richard Covert. ii Sir Walter Covert of Slaugham, d. 1631; ii. Jane Covert, m. Henry Smith; iii. Jane Smith mar. (1) Ninian Burrell (2) Sir Peter Courthop; he mar. (1) Elizabeth Sharpey; and had issue: Frances Courthope, m. to Thomas Pettyward; their da., Jane Pettyward, m. Thomas Lanier, grandson of Nicholas Lanier and Lucrese Bassano; their da. Alice Pettyward, bapt. March 16, 1643, at St Dunstan’s, m. Francis Heyton, d. 1682, br. of Dorothy Heyton, bapt. April 11, 1632, parish of St Alphage, Kent, who m. Col. Matthew Kempe, son of Sir Robert Kempe, nephew of Richard Kempe, of Gissing, who made his will, 1649, pr. at London, December 6, 1656, Secretary of Virginia; who m. Elizabeth Wormely.
1.3.1.1.1. John Lanier Jr. , obit 1719, Jr. m. (1) (1677) Katherine Sampson in Charles City County; (2) Sarah Edmunds.

1. Thomas Harris, Vicar of Ditchling.
1.1. Thomas Harris, of Westmiston, evidenced here: Nov. 13, 1620. Richard Cheale of Westmiston, husbandman, and Mary Verrol of same, widow: sureties, said R. C. and Thomas Harris of Ditchlinge.
1.1.1. ‘Thomas Harris of Ditchlinge’, churchwarden of Ditchling, 1639; witnessed the Will of Sir Walter Covert of Slaugham, in 1631. The principal family of Ditchling were that of Gage, lords of the manor. in 1560, it was granted to Sir Edward Gage (Pat. R. 2 Eliz. pt. iii, m. 11), son of Sir John Gage, Chamberlain to three monarchs. He died in 1568, leaving the manor to his seven younger sons in common (Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), clii, 144). In 1577, five of these sons settled it on Thomas, their brother (Feet of F. Suss. Hil. 19 Eliz.), whose son was Sir John Gage, father of Sir Edward Gage, who m. (2) Frances, da. of Walter Aston, 2nd Lord Aston of Forfar.
The commonly assumed account of the Astons of Virginia is flawed. Walter Aston Sr. of Longdon, Staffs., (deceased by January 25, 1646), is given as the father of the Walter Aston who was in the West Indies in 1634. Administration granted to Walter Aston, only surviving son of the deceased, then given to Zachariah Kirke (Walter Sr’s son-in-law), in that Walter Jr. had died. The Walter Aston of Virginia died April 6, 1656. He was not the son of Walter Aston Sr. of Longdon. Walter Aston, 2nd Lord Aston of Forfar, b. 1609, was the son of Walter Aston, 1st Lord Aston of Forfar, grandson of Sir Walter Aston, brother of Leonard Aston, whose son was walter Aston, of Longdon, aforesaid.
I suggest that Walter Aston of Virginia was of the ‘Forfar’ Astons, intermarried with the Gage family of Ditchling, overlords of the Harris family of that place, with whom they may have intermarried.
1.1.1.1. Thomas Harris, m. … “Honiwood”, bef. 1660; did he m. (2) Dorothie Bassano?
1.1.2. John Harris, bapt. Ditchling, June 21, 1586 (“son of Thomas”), noted here: Conveyance. Sir William Thomas, of Folkington, bart. (son and heir of William Thomas, late of West Dean, esq., dec’d. and Katherine, his relict and ex’trix.), to William Coby, of Southover, gent. Witnesses: Richard Isted, Thomas Gay, John Abbott and John Harris. (WSRO, LYTTON/485, 1662).
1.1.2.1. Thomas Harris, a merchant in London. In 1674, he sold 1200 acres known as Causey’s Care, in Charles City Co., to Thomas Grendon, Jr., the third husband of his sister-in-law, Sarah, widow of George Harris. Thomas is noted here: Assignment, by John Apsley, surviving trustee of Margaret Dobell of Todham, widow, to William Thomas of Fockington, esq., and Richard Isted. of Lewes, gent. Witnesses: Thomas Harris, Richard Isted, junr. (ESRO, SAS-M/1/766, 1654).
1.1.2.2. George Harris, merchant, “hath proved by Testimony produced right to 900 acres for importing 18 persons”, inc. John Drury, Hannah Goodwyn. This secific family of Drury probably came from Fletching, 10 mls from Ditchling. John Drurie or Drury of Fletching, deceased in 1600 (PROB 11/95/145), was the probable grandfather of George Drewry, of Eastgrinsted, and his sister, Mary Drewry, of Fletching, who was to remarry John Earle; this settlement being witnessed by Charles Goodwyn and Richard Isted. (ESRO, SAS-WG/381, 1658). These Drurys were neighbours of Henry Gage, of Fletching.
1.1.2.3. Alice Harris, m. Robert Drury.
1.1.2.3.1. John Drury.
1.1.2.4. Wiliam Harris, witnessed the Will of Walter Aston in 1666, with his nephew, John Drury.
1.1.3. Richard Harris, bapt, July 23, 1592. (The interesting one in terms of migration to Virginia, perhaps).

copyright m stanhope 2017