Perrot ap Rice

Perrot ap Rice, eldest son of Thomas ap Rice and Margaret Mercer, was born c.1595 at Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. He died between March of 1640 and his father's death in 1650.

Marriage and Children

Perrot ap Rice married Margaret Littleton, daughter of Sir Edward Littleton, sister of Sir William Littleton, Lord Keeper. She was still living in 1662.

Two mistakes in one line. Sir Edward Littleton of Henley had no daughter Margaret. (He did, however, have a daughter Priscilla who would have been about the right age, and who married a "Parriot Price".) And the son who was Lord Keeper appears to have been another Edward.

They had thirteen children:

This is not necessarily an accurate birth order - Lettice and Alice would have to come *immediately* before Priscilla, or even *after* her.

1. James ap Rice. The PCC Will of the presumed eldest son, James, is available through Ancestry (proved 1660).
2. John ap Rice, born about 1633. The only son for whom there is a reasonably reliable date of birth is John (presumed to be Perrot's second son, although not necessarily his second child), who died 2 Jun 1670, aged 37, therefore born about 1633.
3. Thomas ap Rice, of Llether, sued in the Great Sessions of 1655 by Roger Williams, mercer, for a debt of 56 shillings
4. Humphrey ap Rice, alive in 1650
5. Perrot ap Rice, married Abigail daughter of Thomas Newsham of Abersannan in Llanfynydd parish, Carmarthenshire; her will was proved in 1639 and apparently had no issue. Perrot had to be one of the very first children of the marriage, to be married and widowered by 1639 - even if she dropped dead as soon as the minister pronounced them man and wife. But, according to the will of his grandfather Thomas ap Rice, Perrot (II), was the youngest son of Perrot ap Rice.
6. Edward ap Rice, alive in 1650-1653
7. Mary ap Rice, alive in 1650
8. Margaret ap Rice, alive in 1650 and probably was the Margaret ap Rice of Brawdy parish who subscribed 5 shillings to a Benevolence in 1661, and was assessed at one hearth in 1670. According to the will of her grandfather Thomas ap Rice, Margaret was the second daughter of Perrot ap Rice. However, the Margaret ap Rice of Bawdy seems to have been the widow of Perrot's brother William.
9. Lettice ap Rice, a minor in 1660. Probably daughter of Perrot's brother William
10. Alice ap Rice, who in 1660-2 with her sister Lettice, both minors, claimed damages of £ 7 from the Revd. John Phillipps, vicar of Brawdy, for failing to keep in repair the premises and hedges of Hooke, which Thomas ap Rice, grandfather of the minors had leased to him in 1637 at a rent of £ 6, a couple of hens yearly, with a repairing clause. Probably daughter of Perrot's brother William
11. (?Elizabeth) ap Rice married William Davids There is some doubt that the wife of William Davids was a daughter of Perrot ap Rice
12. Jane ap Rice, whose brother James ap Rice in his will (1658) enjoined his wife "not to forget my poor sister Jane"
13. Priscilla ap Rice, youngest daughter, alive in 1650. According to the will of her grandfather Thomas ap Rice, Priscilla was the youngest daughter of Perrot ap Rice.

Biographical Sketch

Perrot ap Rice, his father's eldest son and heir, died during his father's lifetime, and so never succeeded to the estates. Few references to him have been found.

In 1619 he acquired from Rice Rudd and Thomas Brinley, both of London, eight acres of pasture and eight acres of land in Llandeloy and Llanhowell parishes, formerly in occupation of the vicar, and also an annual rent of 5s. 4d. According to the deed, "these lands were formerly for the priests to pray in the pulpit of Llandeloy and Llanhoell."

In July 1636 he sued Thomas David who had unjustly deseized him of a messuage and 180 acres in Knightston and Tenby for the preceding twenty years.

Perrot was often sued for debt in the Great Sessions. In March 1640 Gilbert Jones, one of the Brawdy family, sued him for the return of £640. He probably died shortly after.

Perrot's Name

This isn't a traditional Welsh given name. It's a given name here because there was a fashion beginning in Tudor times of giving children names taken from the surnames of their ancestors. Perrot's father's mother was Katherine Perrot. The ap Rices got the manor of Scotsborough from her, so it's easy to see why they would want to preserve her name.

Death of Perrot by Justin Swanström

I think it's likely that there is probably an obscure record somewhere that will provide evidence about Perrot's death. It will be something no one has recognized yet. As an example, it might be household accounts that mention payment for housing some men who had been taken captive by the Parliamentarian army. Their captain or lieutenant might be mentioned by name, but not the others. Some day, someone will recognize that this officer was probably X, a neighbor of the Rices and someone who was likely to have been Perrot's commanding officer. And, a quick look will show that payment the next quarter was a bit less, so one of the men must have died in prison. And, that will mean there's a circumstantial case that Perrot was the one who died. That's just one example of what could happen.

I'm giving this particular example of what could happen because I think it's interesting that Perrot is last known alive in 1640 but died before 1650. This is right at the beginning of the English Civil War (1642-1651). We don't know what happened to Perrot, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he was killed in some skirmish 1641-42. The eruption of the war might have been a reason to postpone putting up a monument to him, and by the time the war was over it might not have seemed worthwhile to put up a monument to someone so long dead.

In February 1644 Parliamentarians captured the "fortified manor house at Trefloyne near Tenby". A quick look at Google maps shows me that Trefloyne was only a mile SW of the ap Rice manor of Scotsborough. Likely, Scotsborough itself was captured by the Parliamentary army sometime between the capture of Trefloyne in February and the sack of Tenby on 10 March. Did Perrot die defending his father's manor from the Puritans?

There is no evidence one way or the other, but all this skirmishing around Tenby in 1644 makes me think that Perrot was probably among those killed fighting for the Royalist cause. He would have been about 36, in the prime of his life, and very likely to be fighting. The Parliamentarian victory shortly afterward would mean that fallen Royalists would be unlikely to get memorials. And, their legal affairs would probably have been wrapped up quickly and quietly.

And, it's just speculation, but if the £640 owed by Perrot in 1640 was really for the building of a ship (I haven't seen evidence), then perhaps this was one of the Royalist ships captured outside Pill in 1644. It's just a guess, but if the ship was captured fighting against the Parliamentarians, the most likely outcome is that no one ever got any compensation for it. Gilbert Jones never got paid for building it, and the ap Rice family never got paid for losing it.

Sources

• (Major) Francis Jones (Wales Herald Extraordinary), "Rickeston and Scotsborough : a study in family history" in The Pembrokeshire Historian (1966), 19-47.
• http://www.geni.com/discussions/146868?msg=1019561
• http://www.geni.com/discussions/146868?msg=1019630