John Filmer, Sr.

From World Connect - robinyoung database

retrieved 24.06.2010

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=robinyoun...

Note:

He is mentioned in his father's will dated 1552 and proved in 1571.

John, James and Marjorie's fourth son, is less well documented. He clearly married at a young age and had children. Mention was made of him in his father's will and also in 1569/70 in that of his brother Isaac. In his brother Robert's will, proved in 1586, he left John's children 20/- each but no names are given. R. M. Filmer speculates that this is the John Filmer who was living at Chilham in 1569, a farmer, and who died there in 1582. He had a large family.

Alternatively, John may have had a farm at Stalisfield, although earlier he was also farming some of his father's lands in Otterden. A John Filmer was buried at Stalisfield in 1580.

John and William Filmer, the sons of James and Marjorie Filmer, are not now thought to have married Elizabeth Deacon and Elizabeth Simmons respectively. These marriages are more likely to refer to John's children.

John Filmer, the son of James Filmer and Marjorie Raynor, was probably born in the early 1530's either before or after his brother, William, and before his brother, Isaac. He is likely to have been their fourth or fifth son, after George, Robert and Reginald who were given greater prominence in their fathers' will.

In the Bishop's transcripts for Otterden is a reference to the death of 'John's wife' probably in 1568. No name for his wife is given but there are other facts that point to an early marriage from which there was some progeny.

His children by this marriage were probably not recorded. Indeed it is quite possible that they were deliberately not recorded as the keeping of such records was viewed at that time with great suspicion lest the information was used for taxation purposes. Of the sixty or so parishes around Otterden only Eastwell, Harrietsham, Milton-next-Sittingbourne, Teynham and Tunstall have registers that exist today and which were compiled in accordance with the official order for parishes to keep such records from 1538. Fortunately, from 1568 returns had to made to the Archdeaconry Court at Canterbury. Even then, the returns for Otterden were submitted somewhat sloppily - no doubt due to the attitude of the Rector of whom it was said 'Dom John Abbye who is married, does not live in Otterden, has also the vicarage of Stallesfield and is not commonly resident there; does not preach, has no licence, not a graduate. He is a hunter'.

John probably married after his father, James, wrote his will in 1552. This envisaged that he would be allowed to reside in his father's property at Sleyde 'which he had lately purchased of Robert Barnes' for five years after his father's death and it would then go to his brother, William. If William should die without heirs then the property would remain with John. His father did not actually die until 1571.

It seems quite possible that on his marriage his father settled property on him. When his wife died, probably in 1568, leaving him with young children he may have moved to Stalisfield to be with his youngest brother, Isaac. His sister, Rabige, and aunt, Izooth, had also died there about the same time.

In 1569 his younger brother, Isaac, of Stalisfield, died leaving him a coat, doublet and two shirts in his will. All four of them (John's wife, Izooth, Rabige and Isaac) may have been carried off by the same illness. However, it looks as if John may have continued to live in Stalisfield, where there is a record of a John Filmer's death in 1580. His brother, William, was then still alive.

Reginald M. Filmer considered it possible that John Filmer died at Chilham in 1582 where a John Filmer had farmed since 1569. It is considered that the Stalisfield death is the more appropriate in view of the families clear association with this latter parish.

His brother, Robert, in his will dated 23rd March, 1584 leaves John's children 20/- each. (He does not leave anything to John, himself, whereas he mentions his other brothers and sisters then living, which seems to imply John was probably deceased by then). Unfortunately he does not give the children's names or say how many.

Reginald M. Filmer in his book 'Deep-rooted in Kent' indicates that at least one of his children was called Raynold (p. 27) but it is not clear from where he obtained this information.

Here is some info:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/kevin.young7/n_2ec.html

Note: He would probably have been in his mid-twenties around 1582 when a John Filmer married an Elizabeth Deacon by Licence at Wichling church on the 11th June of that year. Whilst there is no direct evidence that this John is the earlier John's so n it seems very likely. This marriage was a comparatively short one as Elizabeth, then a widow, died at Wichling on the 30th December, 1587.

He was left 20/- under his uncle ROBERT's will dated 28/3/1584 and proved on 19/11/1586

No records of any children by John and Elizabeth have been found. If there were any, they would have been infants at the time of their parent's deaths and would have had to be brought up by other members of the family - possibly Robert or Geor ge. This does not mean that there were none as they could have settled elsewhere and, in due time, a record may be located.

If John and Elizabeth had a surviving son it would be logical for him to also be called John after his father and grandfather. Then this John would be the most likely contender as the John who emigrated to Virginia, settling at James Town on t he 'neck of land' (Hotten p. 176). If brought up with Robert's family he would almost certainly have been attracted to Virginia by Sir Samuel Argall's exploits there and encouraged to go by the need to make his own way independently of them.

This John died at 'the plantation across the water' in 1624/5, when he left a will which could not be found - see Chapter 12 in Part One. He had indicated that he had intended to marry Elizabeth Peerce. (Minutes of the General Court 27 held a t Jamestown November 1st, 1624). John gave all his estate to Elizabeth Peerce, who then married Anthony Barham, a son of Thomas Barham and Anna, daughter of Robert Shrubsole of Faversham in Kent. The Barhams were, of course, a long establish ed Kent family with close associations with the Filmer family. Katherine Filmer of East Sutton, sister to Sir Robert Filmer, married a Robert Barham in 1619.

Elizabeth's father-in-law was Thomas Bennett, with whom Anthony Barham was living at the time of Anthony's marriage to Elizabeth. A Muster was taken in 1624/5 and this shows that Anthony and Elizabeth were then living at Mulberry Island, wher e Thomas Pierce had a plantation. (It was on Mulberry Island that Henry Filmer settled when he went to Virginia sometime after 1631).

Elizabeth Peerce had emigrated to Virginia on the ship 'William and Thomas' in 1618 and Anthony Barham in the 'Abigail' in 1621. Anthony was a Burgess of Jamestown for Mulberry Island in 1629/30 and Thomas Bennett in 1632. Henry Filmer was B urgess in the year 1642/3. Anthony Barham died in 1641.

Captain Charles Barham, a son of Robert Barham and Katherine Filmer, was also in Virginia in 1654 and in 1663 bought 300 acres in Hog island. He later served as Sheriff of Surry.

Elizabeth Peerce seems to have had a number of relatives in Virginia including: Abraham Pierce, a citizen and dyer of London and 'Cape merchant to the Virginia company', and George Pierce, a younger brother of the Earl of Northumberland, anothe r captain.

Whilst it is clear that this John Filmer had no progeny, his contacts with others 'from Kent closely associated with the Filmer family would lead to the conclusion that he may have originated from there, himself. There is still a lot of eviden ce unexamined and maybe, in due time, his age and origin will be determined. For the assertion that he was a son of John Filmer and Elizabeth to be correct, he must have been in his late thirties or early forties at the time of his death - no t an inappropriate age to propose marriage to Elizabeth Peerce.