John Eppes, Sr., The Elder, Gentleman, of New Inn

Additional Curator's notes:

It is very easy to confuse this John Epes with his son of the same name. John Epes, Sr, or John Epes of New Inn, was the son Alen Epes. He was admitted to Middle Temple in 1572 for the practice of law. This is a documented fact, from Middle Temple records. If he was born in 1530, as most histories say, he was 42 when he began his law practice. He was probably born closer to 1545 or 1550, but he is one of the few children of Alen Epes for whom the baptismal record has not survived.

John Epes, Sr., had a son, also named John, often referred to as John Epes the Younger. John the Younger was born c.1586 died after August 1625. Some sites have combined the two generations into one person, but reading the wills of family members proves that there was a son named John.

Thomazine, the daughter of Alexander Fisher and Katherine Maplesden, is generally accepted as the mother of Francis the Immigrant. The dates given for Thomazine's birth range from 1524 to 1573. She was married in 1579, so, at the earliest, her date of birth would have been 1564. Her name is sometimes shown as Thomazine or Thomasin Banks. This has led to years of confusion for researchers, and the belief that they were two separate women, married to two generations of men named John Epes. Thomazine Fisher had cousins named Banks. Her husband is involved in legal matters for the Banks family. It is easy to see how a researcher might have switched the last names, and then the error was perpetuated.

So, an apology to those who relied on my original comments made two years ago, and a thank you to those who brought discrepancies to my attention. A lot of research can happen in two years! This statement and the data on this profile are the most accurate that I can find right now. Please read my notes, do your own research, consider the facts, and contact me if you find additional material.

Maria Edmonds-Zediker, Volunteer Curator, June 30, 2013, updated April 15, 2018.

John Epes was the third son of Alen Epes and wife Agnes. John was admitted to the Middle Temple on 2 August 1572. He married on 15 June 1579 at Detling, Kent, Thomazine Fisher. She was the daughter of Alexander Fisher of Horsepool in Detling and his wife Katherine. Katherine was the daughter of Peter Maplesden of Lydd, Kent. Alexander Fisher was buried 7 September 1590.

He was living at New Romney in 1579, at Detling 1579-92, although also was spending time at Maidstone in 1578 and in Ashford 1592-1627. He was administrator of his brother William's estate in 1578, executor of his uncle William's estate in 1581, and executor of his brother Thomas' estate in 1585.

John Epes died in Brook, a village three and a half miles from Ashford and was buried at Ashford. His will, made as John Epse of Ashford, co. Kent, the Elder, was dated August 10, 1625 and proven December 16, 1627. An abstractt of the will is below. His death was also recorded as John Epes, Gent., late of New Inn.

He is buried in the church yard in Ashford, as John Epes of Ashford, Co. Kent "gentleman, householder".In England, a householder is one who inhabits a dwelling or tenement of such a nature as to qualify him for the exercise of the franchise. The word "house-keeper" was formerly synonymous with "householder." In the old manorial sense, house-keepers were those who gave "employment to swarms of retainers and dispensed hospitality to the countryside." This would be in keeping with a prosperous family of landed gentry.

John was involved in a suit over the estate of his wife’s brother-in-law, Caleb Banks, in 1595:

• Interrogatories and depositions in the case of Humphrey Wilde and Miles Hubbard v. John Epps etc. The interrogatories state that John Epps and others named in Easter term 40 Eliz. brought an action for recovery of debts against Margaret Banks, executrix of Caleb Banks; depositions are now taken to establish what estate was owned by Caleb Banks.
• Depositions taken on 2 May 42 Elizabeth (1595) from:
  • John Banks of Ashford, Kent, woolen draper. He is advised by his counsel that he need not declare what goods of Caleb Banks he has in his hands. Margaret Banks has taken some of the profits of his lands. Caleb Banks owed the deponent £600 and had many cattle on his farm at Ryton.
  • Edward Halle of Ashford, gent, attorney in the Court of King’s Bench, says that John Epps and Margaret Banks advised him that Caleb Banks had a weak estate. The deponent has presented the case against Margaret Banks with her agreement and the advice of the deponent.
  • John Epps of Ashford, gent, says that Caleb Banks owed him £100 and in addition the deponent had stood surety for him to Roger Kemp for a debt of £200. Kemp has since brought a case against the deponent for recovery. Margaret Banks is the sister of the deponent’s wife and, because of that, he assigned the deponent three leases in order to satisfy his debt. When he died Caleb Banks’ estate amounted to £1500 or £1600. (Deponent signs.)
  • James Martin of Ashford, gent, attorney in the King’s Bench, says he held a lease from Caleb Banks and now holds it from Margaret Banks.

Several years later he was involved in transactions with Caleb Banks’ widow and his brother John:

• 8 Feb 1599/1600. Recognizance of £70 from John Eppes of Ashford, Kent, gent., and John Banckes of the same, draper, to James Pennington and Thomas Wood, citizen of London, dated 8 February 1599/1600, in compliance with a decree in Chancery of 9 February 1599/1600 in the case of Pennington and Wood plaintiffs vs. Epps and Banckes and one Margaret Banckes, widow, defendants. Marginal note that the decree was vacated because Pennington and Wood were satisfied on 12 November 42 Eliz. (1600).

The Will of John EPES of Ashford, County of Kent, "the elder" dated 10 Aug 1626, was proved 16 Dec 1627.

Abstract:

• He gives "soul to God" and requests "Christian Burial".
• To Thomazine my wife all my ready money, plate, rings and all my household stuff and implements except such as I shall give to my children.
• To my daughter THOMAZINE EPES my second best bed steddle, second best feather bed ... also one kettle...one little brass mortar and pestle which was my sister Tookyes...also 10 pounds.
• To my son JOHN EPES 10 pounds within one month after my house shall be spld in North Lane
• To my son EDWARD 10 pounds within one month after my said house is sold
• To my son PETER EPES 10 pounds within one month after my said house is sold and the money received and so to the rest of my sons.
• To my wife all such fuel woods as I shall have at the time of my decease.
• Thomazine my wife, executrix.
• My house or tenement in North Lane in the town of Ashford aforesaid with all the closets, ect. to be sold and the money shall go to the payment of my debts, legacies, and funeral charges, that being first paid, all the remainder of the money I will to Thomazine, my wife, but if she died before tenement etc is sold then the money thereof coming shall remain to my sons JOHN EPES, FRANCIS EPES, PETER EPES and EDWARD EPES, or so many as shall then be living within the realm of England.
• Thomazine my wife together with the assent and consent of my brother-in-law John Bankes of Maidstone, my cousen ALLINE EPES and my son ROPER or any one, two or three shall sell the said tenement, whom I make overseers of this Will and Testament and for their pains I Will either of them 10 pounds each.

Witnesses: Edmund Hayes, Thomas Hall

[The following list is contrdicted by a curator in the case of Willima Eppes; I don't know what to do with this.}

Children of John Eppes and wife Thomazine Fisher:

• Katherine Eppes, baptized 21 Jan 1581/2, buried 1 June 1582 at Detling.
• William Eppes; born ca. 1584, buried 17 Jan 1592/3 at Detling.
• John Eppes, born ca. 1586, died after Aug 1625. As John Epps the younger he was bequeathed a little roan nag in the will of Caleb Bankes, 12 March 1597.
• Katherine Eppes, born ca. 1588, married (1) 18 Nov 1606 at Rotherhithe, Surrey, her cousin Peter Maplesden and (2) (license 24) May 1615 at Ashford, John Sloman.
• Thomas Eppes, baptized 31 Aug 1589 at Detling, died before 1619.
• Daniel Eppes, died 1619-25
• Thamazin Eppes, baptized 2 April 1592 at Ashford, died after Aug 1625.
• Elizabeth Eppes, baptized 13 May 1593 at Ashford, died before Aug 1625.
• Ann Eppes, born ca. 1594, married, Sep 1619 at Eusitivell, Kent, Edward Hudson, Gent., of Stanton-on-Arrow, County Hereford.
• Francis Eppes, immigrant to Virginia, was baptized 14 May 1597
• Allen Eppes, baptized 22 Oct 1598 at Ashford, died before 1625, unmarried.
• Mary Eppes, baptized 18 Nov 1599 at Ashford. She married, March 1622/3 at Kennington, co. Surrey, William Roper, Gent., of Stoke, Kent, second son of Christopher Roper (1561-1622), 2nd Baron Teynham, of the Lodge, Linsted, Kent, and his wife Katharine Seborne.
• Peter Eppes, baptized 14 April 1601, was living in Virginia before the massacre of 22 March 1621/2 and was living on the Eastern Shore with his brother William Epes, 16 Feb 1623/4, but seems to have returned to England before the muster of Feb 1624/5. His father’s will, dated 10 Aug 1625, implies he was then at Ashford, but no later records of him have been found in England or Virginia.
• Edward Eppes, died after Aug 1625

Links to additional material:

• http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p653.htm#i...
• http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/pete/butowsky.pdf Pg.9
• http://www.tc.umn.edu/~timsx001/Epes.html
• http://www.2fools.net/book-0001/0009-0004.html

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https://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=flakey&i...