Alexander Hadley

http://www.hadleysociety.org/pages/debrett.html

Alexander Hadley is the earliest generation described in the family history; he is believed to have been born in London in 1375, the son of Sir John Hadley, who was elected a member of Parliament in 1369 and was twice Lord Mayor of London (1379 and 1393). Alexander married Lady Alice Durborough (who was descended from the Fitzurse family), and they settled at Hadley Williton (now known as Williton Hadley), Somerset in about 1400. They were the parents of John Hadley, who married Joan, daughter of Richard Stowell. John and Joan were the parents of Richard Hadley, who married Lady Phillipa, daughter of Sir Humphrey Audley by his wife Elizabeth Courtney. Elizabeth Courtney was descended from King Edward III. Richard and Philippa's son was Joshua Hadley (although on a separate chart he is more correctly called James). Joshua married Friedeswith de Matthew of Glamorganshire; he was extremely wealthy as revealed by his will drawn up in 1532 and proved in 1537. Joshua had six children, Christopher, John, James, Thomas, Ann and Rachel. Christopher was the eldest and inherited the family estates. Christopher had a son called Arthur, who died aged 21, and a daughter Margaret, who inherited the Hadley estates and wealth. Margaret married her cousin Thomas Luttrell, and through this marriage Williton Hadley and Withycombe Hadley passed into the Luttrell family. Joshua's younger son, James Hadley, is believed to have been the direct ancestor; he obtained a commission in the army and ultimately took up land in Ireland. There he met and married Lady Jane Roswell of the county of Perth". James was the father of Simon Hadley, Sr., who was born in 1640 in Ireland. Simon was a prosperous Dublin gentleman, who owned iron works in Ballynakill, King's County (now called County Offaly), and fisheries in Bellegready, Dublin. He married firstly Catherine Talbot, who died on 2 April 1710 in King's County, and secondly Elizabeth, whose previous name is not known. In 1706 Simon, his wife Catherine and their three adult children became Quakers, but Simon was disowned by the Friends on his second marriage because Elizabeth was not a Quaker. Simon died on 6 June 1711 in Ireland. By his first wife Simon had four children: Simon Hadley, Junior born in about 1675; John Hadley; Elizabeth whose husband was called Miller; and Jane whose husband was called Kiernan. Simon Hadley, Junior joined the Quakers with his parents in 1706, and in 1712, having inherited a large sum of money from his father, he emigrated from County Westmeath (which adjoins King's County)in Ireland to America. He was accompanied by his wife, Ruth formerly Keran, and their six children. The family settled in Pennsylvania, where two further children were born.

In the course of our research we have discovered a good deal about five generations of the Hadley family who were settled at Williton Hadley, about five miles east of Dunster Castle and about a mile south of Watchet, Somerset. We have also found evidence that Simon Hadley, Junior emigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania in about 1711/2; but we have found no evidence that Simon was directly descended from or related to the Somerset family, and there is a considerable gap between Arthur Hadley, who died in 1558 and was the last male member of the family to live at Williton, and Simon Hadley of County Westmeath, Ireland, who was born in about 1675.

Dealing first with earlier generations, we have found many references in medieval London records to John Hadley, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1379 and 1393. John was almost certainly from the town of Hadleigh in Suffolk and he was the son of Robert and Alice Hadley. He was a grocer and served as an Alderman in London almost continuously from 1375 until 1407. John Hadley's will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (the PCC, which was the superior probate jurisdiction in England and Wales) in 1409; we have not examined the original document, but the indexes show that he had property in the parishes of St. Pancras in the City of London, Hadleigh in Suffolk and in Stepney (Stebonheath), Middlesex. There is a short biography of John Hadley in S.L. Thrupp's Merchant Class of Medieval London (1948); this states that although he married twice (his widow Thomasina, remarried to John de Boys) he left no surviving issue. Certainly, we have found no evidence that Alexander Hadley was the son of John Hadley.

We turned next to sources relating to Somerset. It appears that the main source for the family history compiled by William Moore Hadley was J. Collinson's History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset (vol 2, 1791, pages 47/8 and 254). Owing to its age we were not permitted to photocopy any part of this book, but we made the following transcript:

"Manor of Withycombe

The family of Fitzurse possessed this manor in very early times after the Norman Conquest. Of which family there is traced a descent of seven generations from the time of Henry II to the latter end of the reign of Edward III when the two daughters of Sir Ralph Fitzurse being married, the one to Fulford of Fulford in Devonshire, the other to Sir Hugh Durborough of Heathfield. Durborough in this county, the manor became aligned from the name, and in the partition of the marriage settlements between the two daughters abovementioned, was assigned to Maud the wife of Durborough. The issue was James Durborough of Heathfield and Ralph Durborough the eldest who inherited Withycombe. He married Joan daughter of John St. Barb, by whom he had two daughters, Joan the wife of John Courtenai, who died without issue, and Alice the wife of Alexander Hadley. Which Alexander in right of his wife, became possessed of Withycombe and transmitted it to his son John Hadley, who, having married Joan the daughter of Richard Stawell, was the father of Richard Hadley. He married Phillipa the daughter of Sir Humphrey Audley and had issue one son, James, and two daughters, Anne and Jane. James married two wives, first Friedeswith, the daughter of Charles Matthew of the county of Glamorgan; his second wife's name was Elizabeth. By his first wife he was the father of several children, viz four sons Christopher, John, James and Thomas, and two daughters Anne and Rachel. Christopher Hadley, his son and heir, was 22 years of age, 31 Henry VIII (ie 1539/40), and being married, left issue Arthur Hadley and Margaret. Arthur died without issue in the time of Philip and Mary; his sister Margaret, who was married to James Luttrell Esq., succeeded to the estate, which thus passing into the family of Luttrell of Dunster Castle, has lineally descended to the present possessor."

Vol 2, page 488: part of manor of Williton, known as Williton Hadley, came to Hadley family (as above)

Vol 1, page xl: John Hadley was listed a gentleman in Somerset in reign of Henry VII (1485-1509)

Vol 3, page 254:

Manor of Heathfield, five miles west of Taunton, also came to Alexander Hadley, then his son John, then Richard, then his son James, then James' grandson Arthur, after whom to the Luttrell family, as above

Collinson confirms that Richard Hadley's son was James not Joshua, but Collinson reveals nothing about what became of James Hadley, Junior, and makes no mention of the name Simon Hadley or any link with Ireland.

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, heralds made a series of tours known as Visitations through English counties, to record the pedigrees of the leading families to ensure that the correct armorial bearings were being used. Searching the volumes covering Somerset, it was disappointing to find no pedigree for the Hadley family of Williton and Withycombe, but we did note several references to the family in pedigrees relating to allied families:

The Visitations of the County of Somerset 1531 and 1573, edited F.W. Weaver (1885):

page 33 - Chris. Hadley married Anne daughter of Giles Hill of Hounston (Giles was aged 24 and more in 1493)

page 43 - Sir Andrew Luttrell of Dunster (died 1547) had as second son Thomas Luttrell who married Mary, daughter of Chris. Hadley of Withycombe

page 74 - Pedigree of St. Barbe of South Brent: John St. Barbe married Margt sister and heir of Sir Hugh llongland; their daughter Joan married Ric. Derborough; their daughter Joan (sic: should read Alice) married Alex. Hadley; their son was John Hadley

page 94 - Richard Wyke married Elinor, daughter of Hadley of Withycombe

page 107 - Catherine, daughter of Sir John Fitzjames, married 'G. Hadley' (probably ca. 1650)

page 119 - Kemys of Westwick & Bedminster: Roger Kemys of Westwike, Somerset, married Issabell daughter of George Hadley, 1591

These references add some fresh details, but again we do not learn what became of James Hadley, Junior.

We next consulted two more recent scholarly works by Sir Henry C. Maxwell-Lyte. First, his History of Dunster (1909) contains several references to the Hadley family of Williton and Withycombe, including a brief pedigree chart (page 169). However, his later work, Historical Notes on Some Somerset Manors (Somerset Record Society, Extra Series, 1931), has a much more detailed account of the Hadley family and we have appended photocopies of the relevant pages (50-51 and 262-267). This corrects several statements made by Collinson and repeated by others, and it also provides a chronological framework for the pedigree. Maxwell-Lyte shows that Alice, daughter of Ralph (not Joan daughter of Richard, as stated in the Visitation pedigree) Durburgh, married Alexander Hadley of London shortly before 1431, and through the Durburgh inheritance the Hadley family acquired Withycombe, Williton and Heathfield. Alexander Hadley died in 1480 and an Inquisition Post Mortem (IPM) was held to ascertain the extent of his property. These dates of marriage and death for Alexander make it extremely unlikely that he was born as early as 1375, unless he married aged about 55 and died aged 105.

Alexander and Alice's son John Hadley married in about 1442 Joan, daughter of John Phelpot. According to Collinson John's wife was Joan daughter of Richard Stawell, and Maxwell-Lyte notes that this discrepancy arises from "a contemporary pedigree at Dunster" where John's widow was named as 'Joan daughter of Robert Stawell of Cothelstone.' In 1501 John Hadley made provision for his younger son John and his daughter Elizabeth. He died within a couple of years and was succeeded by his elder son Richard Hadley. Richard again improved the social standing of the family by marrying in about 1493 Phillipa, daughter of Sir Humphrey Audley by his wife Elizabeth, the widow of Sir James Luttrell and the daughter of Sir James Courtenay. Richard died in September 1524, leaving five sons. Of these, three became priests: John was a canon at Bruton, Somerset; William was a monk at Barlinch; and Henry was almost certainly in holy orders since he was called 'Sir Henry' in his brother's will.

Richard's eldest son was James (not Joshua) Hadley, who was born in about 1494/5. James was a lawyer, and through various offices he acquired great wealth. He married three times: firstly to Friedeswith, daughter of Christopher Mathew of Glamorganshire, Wales; secondly to Ellen; and thirdly to Elizabeth, daughter of John Marshall of Ivythorne, who had been twice widowed. In 1527 James handed over his manors of Withycombe, Watchet, Williton and Heathfield to trustees before making his will in October 1528. This will mentioned James Hadley, Junior as his eldest son and heir, expressing the hope that James would also study law. Younger sons called Christopher, Richard and John, all under 21, and two daughters Alice and Catherine, were also provided for. However, this will was revoked following James' third marriage, and a new will was drawn up in July 1532. This was proved in the PCC in 1537; we have not examined it, but Maxwell-Lyte (page 265) describes some of its provisions.

James Hadley died on 20 February 1537, and an IPM was held. This revealed that his eldest son, James Hadley, Junior, had predeceased him and had died without issue. This information conflicts with the family history, which states that the younger James Hadley "took a commission in His Majesty's Army and ultimately took up land in Ireland," where he met and married Lady Jane Roswell of Perthshire. The 1537 Inquisition found that James Hadley's heir was his second son, Christopher Hadley. In 1538 Christopher married Ann, daughter of Giles Hill of Houndston. Christopher died on 17 August 1540, leaving two infants, a son called Arthur Hadley and a daughter called Margaret. As heir to a large estate, it was arranged that Arthur should marry Eleanor, daughter of Sir John Wyndham. The marriage probably took place in 1556, but Arthur died young and childless on 25 August 1558. Thereafter his sister Margaret inherited the Hadley estates; she married Thomas Luttrell of Dunster, thus bringing Williton, Withycombe and Heathfield to the Luttrell family. There was an attempt by Margaret's uncle, Richard Hadley, to prove that he should have inherited these manors, but he was unsuccessful.

It is possible that Simon Hadley of Pennsylvania was descended from a junior branch of the Hadley family of Williton, perhaps through Richard or John Hadley, who were the younger sons of James Hadley, Senior, but we have found no evidence for this. The Victoria County-History, Somerset (vol 5, 1985, page 151) has a brief account of the history of the manor of Williton Hadley; the footnotes show that this is based upon independent research, but the genealogy agrees with the more detailed account given by Sir Henry Maxwell-Lyte, and we learn nothing about any surviving male members of the Hadley family after 1558.

We followed up Hadley pedigrees from other counties, hoping to find a reference to a branch of the family which settled in Ireland in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. We examined Hadley pedigrees in Watney's Wallop Family (vol 2, 1928, p3O2); in Collections for a History of Staffordshire (William Salt Archaeological Society, vol 20, NS vol 2, 1899, p l54) and in The Visitation of Cheshire 1580 (edited J P Rylands, Harleian Society vol 18, 1882, p57), but none of these contained any relevant clues for our purposes.

We searched the Somerset section of the International Genealogical Index (the IGI), which indexes baptisms and marriages extracted from church registers. The IGI is by no means comprehensive, but the majority of surviving parish registers from Somerset have been included. The IGI showed nothing for the name Simon Hadley or for James Hadley before 1700. In passing we noted the two following entries from Somerset

11 Oct 1540 Margaret daughter of Christopher Hadley, born at Withycombe

27 Aug 1560 Margaret Hadley married Thomas Luttrell at East Quantockhead

We turned next to emigration sources, since in recent years a great deal has been done to index all references to arrivals in America. Filby and Meyer's Passenger and Immigration Lists Index was published in three volumes in 1981, and since 1982 an annual Supplement has been published indexing freshly discovered sources relating to immigrants to America. We searched all these volumes, but it was only in the most recent 1993 Supplement that we found any reference to Simon Hadley junior:

Simon Hadley (arrived) New Castle Co Delaware, (in) 1712, with wife Ruth and children Joseph, Deborah, Simon, Hannah, Ruth and Joshua (reference: Albert C Myers, 'List of Certificates of Removal from Ireland Received at the Monthly Meetings of Friends in Pennsylvania, 1682-1750; with Genealogical Notes from Friends Records of Ireland and Pennsylvania, Genealogies, County Histories and other Books and Manuscripts', in Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania 1682-1750 with their Early History in Ireland (1902))

We searched Myers' volume, and found several references to Simon Hadley and his family in connection with their settlement at New Garden Township (formerly the Manor of Steyning), Pennsylvania, from 1712 onwards. However, Myers gave no details of the precise ship in which the family arrived, nor apparently had he researched original Irish Quaker records for information about the family before 1712. Myers gave the following brief biography of Simon Hadley (page 340):

Simon Hadley and wife Ruth from Moate Meeting, Co West Meath received 6 Mo(nth) 4 1716 [4 August 1716]. They came from Ireland about 1712 and settled in New Castle County, near the New Garden line. A house which he erected in 1717 was still standing in 1861. Children: Joseph born 8 Mo 25 1698 [25 Oct 1698]; Deborah born 2 Mo 25 1701 [25 Apr 1701]; Joshua born 3 Mo 6 1703 [6 May 1703]; Simon born 12 Mo 23 1703/4 died 11 Mo 4 1730/1 [23 Feb 1704 & 4 Jan 1731]; Hannah born 11 Mo 16 1709/10 [16 Jan 1710]; Ruth born 12 Mo 6 1711/2 [6 Feb 1712]; Katharine born 2 Mo 25 1715 [25 Apr 1715]; Ann born 12 Mo 7 1717/8 [7 Feb 1718]. The mother died 12 Mo 18 1750/1 [18 Feb 1751] and was buried at New Garden, after which Simon married Phebe, widow of Richard Buffington of Bradford, Chester Co.

Thus we have confirmation that Simon Hadley, Junior had arrived in America by 1712, together with his wife Ruth and six children. We found no further details about Simon from other emigration sources, such as P.W. Coldham's Complete Book of Emigrants 1700-1750 (1992) or the F. Leeson Emigrant Index (held by Debrett Ancestry Research Ltd), or Emmigrants to Pennsylvania 1641-1819 (edited M Tepper, 1975) or Ship Passenger Lists, Pennsylvania and Delaware (1641-1825) (edited C Boyer, 1980).

We visited the Society of Friends Library at Friends House, London, and consulted a number of published works concerning Irish Quakers, but none mentioned the Hadley family. However, in 1970 the Library was requested to research Simon Hadley by Bruce H. Brown of Forfar, Angus (Scotland). Their notes read as follows:

Simon Hadley is said to have been born in Somerset in 1640 and married Catherine Talbot. They had emigrated to Ireland by the time their son Simon was born in 1675. He moved from Dublin meeting to that at Moate Grange in 1694.

Action Taken by Library: No reference to name Hadley appears in the digests of births and marriages for Bristol and Somerset Quarterly Meeting up to 1680.

This confirms the initial information provided to us concerning Simon Hadley, Senior, but suggests that the family were Quakers as early as 1694 when they moved from Dublin to Moate, which is in County Westmeath but within a mile or so of the border with Kings County.

In the final phase of our research we consulted a range of Irish sources in the hope of finding confirmation that the emigrant was the son of Simon Hadley, Senior and of tracing details as to when the family settled in Ireland.

The results were disappointing in that we found no trace of the name Hadley in the indexes to wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Armagh between 1536 and 1810, or in the diocese of Dublin before 1800, or in the local probate jurisdictions of Ossory, Kildare and Killaloe (which cover most of King's County) before 1800. Although almost all Irish wills were destroyed (along with many other Irish records) when the Public Record Office in Dublin was set alight in 1922, some collections of abstracts of wills do survive. We searched four of these ('Welply's Irish Wills and Pleadings'; 'Irish Will Abstracts up to 1700 in the PCCI; Quaker Records Dublin, Abstracts of Wills (edited P B Eustace and 0 C Goodbody, 1957) and Registry of Deeds Dublin, Abstracts of Wills 1708-1745 (edited P B Eustace, 1956)), but again with negative results for the name Hadley.

The Irish section of the IGI contained several early entries for the name Simon Hadley but it is unlikely that any of these are based upon contemporary sources (eg Simon son of James Hadley and Jane Roswell is said to have been born in 1640 in County West Meath; another entry states that Simon was born of the same parents in 1650 in King's County; another entry states that Simon son of Mrs. Hadley was born in Dublin in 1640; yet another states he was born at Ballenclash, County Carlow, in 1640, but gives no parents).

Finally, we searched the indexes to Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills between 1383 and 1644, noting every entry for the name Hadley (see list appended to this report). It will be seen that the will of James Hadley, Senior of Withycombe was proved in 1537, but no later Hadley wills from the Dunster area were found.

Perhaps of great significance, it will be seen that in 1590 Simon Hadley of Quatt, which lies about four miles south of Bridgnorth, Shropshire (Salop), left a will. Simon was a relatively rare name in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and it is certainly possible that Simon Hadley, Senior of Dublin and Moate was descended from Simon Hadley of Quatt. This Hadley family appears to have been settled at Quatt for several generations since in 1631 the will of John Hadley of Wootton in Quatt was proved.

In conclusion, our research to verify the family history provided has cast serious doubt on the link between Simon Hadley, Senior of Ireland and the Hadley family of Williton Hadley in Somerset. The weakest link in the chain is undoubtedly James Hadley, Junior; the work of Sir Henry Maxwell-Lyte shows that James died between October 1528 and February 1537 childless and unmarried, and he probably never reached adulthood. That he died young is proved by the fact that his younger brother Christopher inherited the family estates in Somerset unchallenged. We have found no evidence whatsoever to support the statement that James Hadley, Junior entered the army and settled on land granted to him in Ireland. Our research has certainly shown that Simon Hadley, Junior arrived as a Quaker in America probably in 1712, although no passenger list showing his arrival appears to have survived. We have not been able (within the time available to prepare this report) to research Quaker records held in Dublin, but we have no reason to doubt that the emigrant was the son of an elder Simon Hadley who moved from Dublin to Moate in County Westmeath in 1694. Our preliminary searches in Irish sources have not shed any significant light on the family in Dublin, or Moate or in King's County, but there is ample scope to make further searches in Irish Quaker records and parish registers covering Dublin.

As to the earlier origins of the family, it is important to keep an open mind, but it would certainly be worthwhile to investigate the Hadley family of Quatt and Shropshire, since this family (unlike the Hadley family of Somerset) appears to have favored the distinctive name of Simon in the sixteenth century.

Indexes to Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills (noted all Hadley (and variants) entries 1383-1644):

1409 - John Haddele of St. Pancras, London; Hadlegh, Suffolk; Stebenhythe, Middlesex (20 Marche)

1472 - Margaret Hadley of St. Michael Coventry (6 Wattys)

1492 - Richard Hadley of St. Peter in Chepe, London; Northwold, Norfolk; Waltham Holycross, Essex; Lewisham, Kent (16 Dogett)

1504 - John Hadley of Clare, Suffolk; Beauchampe Powle etc, Essex (19 Holgrave)

1512 - Edmond Hadley of St. Mighell Coventry (7 Fetiplace)

1537 - Jamys Hadley, squyre of Withecombe beside Dunster, Somerset (3 Dyngeley)

1567 - George Hadley of Barthweye, Herts (12 Stonarde)

1586 - Allen Hadlie of parish of St. Olave in Hartstreet, London (27 Windsor)

1598 - Richard Hadley, citizen and haberdasher of London, St Mary Wolnoth (70 Lewyn)

1590 - Simon Hadley of Quatt, Salop (63 Drury)

1600 - Roqer Hadley als Yarneton, mercer of Dedington, Oxon (46 Wallop)

1601 - William Hadley of Halesowen, Salop (32 Woodhall)

1607 - Richard Hadlie the elder of Warley (Halesowen), Worcs, gent (18 Huddlestone)

1631 - John Hadley of Wootton, parish of Quatt, Salop. Will (91 St John) proved 2 Jul by son John

1632 - Richard Hadley of Banbury, Oxon. Will (67 Audley) proved 5 Jun by relict Elizabeth

1638 - Elizabeth Hadley of parish of Stockton, Salop, widow. Will (106 Lee) proved 8 Sep by Ellen Ford

1638 - Richard Hadley of Ashcott (parish of Shapwick), Somerset, clerk Will (109 Lee) proved 20 Sep by relict Anne

SOURCES CONSULTED

Sylvia L. Thrupp, The Merchant Class of Medieval London (1300-1500) (1948)

J. Collinson, History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset (3 vols, 1791)

Sir Henry C Maxwell-Lyte, A History of Dunster (1909)

Historical Notes on Some Somerset Manors (Somerset Record Society Extra Series, 1931)

The Visitations of the County of Somerset 1531 & 1573,Edited by F.W. Weaver (1885)

The Victoria County History, Somerset (vol 5, 1985)

V.J. Watney, The Wallop Familv and their Ancestry (vol 2, 1928)

Collections for a History of Staffordshire (William Salt Archaeological Soc, vol 20, New Series vol 2, 1899)

The Visitation of Cheshire 1580, edited J P Rylands (Harleian Society, vol 18, 1882)

Indexes to Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills 1383-1644

American Wills proved in London 1611-1775, compiled by P.W. Coldham (1992)

P.W. Filby & M.K. Meyer, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index (3 vols, 1981) and annual Supplements 1982-1993

Emigrants to Pennsylvania 1641-1819, edited M. Tepper (1975)

P.W. Coldham, The Complete Book of Emigrants 1700-1750 (1992)

Ship Passenger Lists, Pennsylvania and Delaware (1641-1825), edited C. Boyer (1980)

F. Leeson Emigrant Index (Debrett Ancestry Research Ltd)

M.D. Falley, Irish and Scotch-Irish Ancestral Research (2 vols, 1981)

The International Genealogical Index, 1992 edition: Ireland section Somerset section

J. Besse, A Collection of the Suffering of the People called Quakers (Irish section, vol 2, 1753)

A.C. Myers, Immigration of the Irish Quakers in Pennsylvania 1682-1750 (1902)

Biographical Index, Society of Friends Library, London

Index to Prerogative Wills of Ireland 1536-1810

Irish Will Abstracts up to 1700 in PCC Index to 'Welply's Irish Wills and Pleadings (19 vols)

Quaker Records Dublin, Abstracts of Wills, edited P.B. Eustace & 0.C. Goodbody (1957)

Registry of Deeds Dublin, Abstracts of Wills 1708-1745, edited P.B. Eustace (1956)

Index to Act or Grant Book and to Original Wills, Diocese of Dublin to 1800

Indexes to Irish Wills:

Ossory 1536-1800

Leighlin 1652-1800

Ferns 1601-1800

Kildare 1661-1800

Killaloe and Kilfernora 1653-1800

The Civil Survey 1654-56, County Meath, edited R.C. Simington (1940)

J. O'Hart, Irish Pedigrees (2 vols, 1892)

0.C. Goodbody, Guide to Irish Quaker Records 1654-1860 (1967)

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