Thomas Gerard, Gent., of the New Hall

GEDCOM Note

Life Sketch

Thomas Gerard, will written 12/21/1628, probated 1/11/1628:9
Names: wife Jaine, children John, Joseph, Mary m. Kirby or Rigby, Ann & Jaine

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gerard-22

Biography

This profile is part of the Gerard Name Study.
Cross of St George
Thomas Gerard was born in England.
Thomas Gerard, Gent., of the New Hall[1]

Thomas, illegitimate son of William Gerard by an unnamed mistress, was born about 1540-1. He married (1) Grace, by whom he had a son, John; (2) Jane (married in 1586). The maiden names of Grace and Jane are not known.[2][1]

Thomas's will, dated 21 December 1628, was proved 12 January 1628/9 and requested burial "in the church of Warwick, Lancashire".[1]

Newhall

"Constance Rowen, wife of William, appeared to give a deposition. All in all, Thomas Gerard [II] of Bryn gave his younger brother William, and William's illegitimate son life tenancy in the New Hall in 1543. WILLIAM died before 1560, while his son Thomas was still a minor. Because he was a minor, his uncle James occupied the home at Newhall.[5]

There are court papers telling about how Newhall succeeded to William. Thomas was the bastard child of William Gerard. Thomas [II], uncle of Thomas and brother of WILLIAM, was the inheriter of the estate, but he agreed with William before his death to leave Newhall to William's baseborn son, Thomas. This he did.

Garrett, the English Genealogist who searched Lancashire for records of the Gerard family, states that there were a number of lawsuits against William and his son regarding his elder brother, Sir Thomas Gerard's estate, and the passing of Newhall from Sir Thomas to William 's son, Gentleman Thomas. The researcher states that William Gerard is mentioned in the Inquisition following the death of Sir Thomas Gerard [I] in 1523. This would have been the father of Sir Thomas [II]. Sir Thomas [I], their father, wrote his will made at Berwick on Tweed in Sept 1522 during the Scottish War. If the order of names in a will has significance, he says, then William would have been the third son. In 1523 the eldest son would have been 12 years old. William may have been born between 1513 and 1520.

References

1. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition .…. By Douglas Richardson. Gerard. Page 144. < GoogleBooks >