Mary More

Mary More was born at Hambleden, Buckinghamshire on 25 December 1553. She married Edward More of Haddon, in the Parish of Bampton, Oxfordshire. He was the son of Thomas More of Haddon and of Beswick, Yorkshire. Court Records for Recusancy (refusal to conform to the Church of England) show clearly that Edward and Mary spent all their married life living on the small estate owned by Mary's father at Low Leyton, Essex.

In fact, Court Recusancy Records (Catholics families had to present themselves regularly to the local Court where, if they did not conform to the C of E, they faced fines and even imprisonment - Edward spent four years in various London Prisons for the 'offence'), as well as religious and family documents clearly show that Edward and Mary had seven children:

• 1. Isabel: Died unmarried.
• 2. Joan: A Nun at the English Benedictine Convent in Brussels.
• 3. Henry: Educated in France and Rome. Became a Jesuit Priest.
• 4. Thomas: Educated in France and Rome. Became a Jesuit Priest.
• 5. Grace: A Nun at the Benedictine Monastery of Our Lady of Consolation at Cambrai in Flanders.
• 6. Anne: A Nun at the same Monastery as her sister Grace.
• 7. Frances: Married Henry Lusher.

Edward More died at Low Leyton in 1605 when, in June, the Court gave Mary permission to Administer his estate. Mary later went to live with her sister (Kathryn Byrd) at Stondon Massey, Essex. She died there in 1630.

[Note: Some internet genealogy sites claim that Mary and Edward More/Moore had a son, John, born 1584, who married an Elizabeth Merritt and emigrated to Virginia in the 1620‟s. Conflicting claims are made about this John‟s birthplace in England, and some say he was born in Ireland. No documentary evidence has been produced to substantiate any of these claims, and they do not accord with the known facts about the children of this family. When Thomas More (iv. above) entered the English College, Rome, on 15 October 1601 he made a sworn statement to the effect that he had one brother (see iii. above) and five sisters.

• https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/moore/30790/