Sir Thomas Roberts, 1st Bt of Glassenbury

Sir Thomas Roberts

• 1st Bt of Glassenbury
• Gender: Male
• Birth: circa 1561 - Glassenbury, Kent, England
• Death: February 20, 1627 (61-70) - Glassenbury, Kent, England
• Place of Burial: St Dunstan, Cranbrook, Kent, England
• Son of Sir Walter Roberts and Frances Maynard
• Husband of Frances James

https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_U410_2_3...
U410/T195 Probate copy of will of Sir Thomas Roberts of Glassenbury in Cranbrook, proved at the Consistory Court of Canterbury

1628 DCb/J/J/43/68 Kent Records Office
Pl: Sir Walter ROBERTS Bt son exor; Def.: Lady Frances ROBERTS rel; Thos ROBERTS & John ROBERTS, Frances ROBERTS als CRISPE wife of Henry CRISPE arm & Ann ROBERTS als CRISPE wife of Thos CRISPE childn; Ann COLEPEPPER als SNELGRAVE wife of Thos SNELGRAVE arm dau of Eliz ROBERTS als COLEPPER dau decd; Documents: Sent; Cas

Biography

from Burke's Extinct baronetcies:

Sir Thomas Roberts, of Glassenbury, who was knighted by King James I. at Whitehall, before his coronation, 23rd July, 1603 and was created a Baronet 3rd July, 1620. Parents: Walter Roberts Esq of Glassenbury and Frances Mayard.

Married

1. Frances, daughter of Martyn James, esq. of Smarden, in Kent, and had issue.

Children

1. Walter (Sir), his successor.
2. Thomas, died unmarried.
3. John, died unmarried.
4. William.
5. Frances, m. first, to John Hooper, esq. of Stockberry; and secondly, to Henry Crisp, esq.
6. Elizabeth, m. to Sir Alexander Culpeper, knt. of Bedgbury.
7. Anne, m. to Thomas Crisp, esq. of Goudhurst.

Sir Thomas is described as" hospitable without excess, and charitable without ostentation." It is farther stated, that" in all other respects he shewed himself a prudent and judicious gentleman, a lover of his country, and a good Christian; he valued the memory of his ancestors, and bore in his mind their good actions, as well as the care they had taken in preserving the estate entire for many generations; whereupon, in the year 15W, he caused an inscription to be set up in the church of Cranebrook, containing a memorial of his family, that his posterity, having it always before their eyes, might be induced to imitate their example, and preserve the credit and repute his forefathers had lived in." He d. 21st February, 1627, and was succeded by his son, Sir Walter.

Notes

See link below verifying that Sir Thomas Roberts (son of Thomas Roberts, 1st Bt.) had no children: https://glassenbury.blogspot.com See this web site http://home.netcom.com/~fzsaund/roberts.html and for sources I entered for Thomas.

Sir Thomas Roberts had issue by his wife Frances James.

Their second son was Thomas Roberts, baptised at Cranbrook, Kent, October II 1590. He made his Will 23 November 1644 and it was proved by Walter Roberts 2 December 1647. In the Cranbrook Church Register there is an entry for a burial of a Thomas Roberts on May 3. 1645, which we may reasonably conclude refers to this man. His father had left him by Will the sum of £50 a year, which in 1641/2 became the subject of Chancery Proceedings {Charles 1st, R315}. In these proceedings reference is made to the complainant, Thomas Roberts, gentleman; to Sir Thomas Roberts, knight & baronet, his father and to Sir Walter Roberts. Peter Courthope is another party to the dispute. There are other Chancery Proceedings on more or less the same subject and with the same parties in 1641 {Charles 1st, R8/4} as in 1639 {Charles 1st, R38/50}.

The Will of this Thomas Roberts "of Glassenbury, Kent, Esqr." {ref: P.C.C. 247 Fines}, mentions Sir Walter Roberts and "the Lady Roberts" his mother. He was unmarried. and had no children.

Thus, the Thomas Roberts born in Woolaston, Worcestershire (about 1600) and emigrated to America, where he died in 1673 after having had issue through his wife (evidently married about 1627) Rebecca Hilton, cannot have been the second son, nor any son, of Sir Thomas Roberts of Glassenbury, Kent, and his wife Frances James. The various American and French web-sites which claim this relationship take into consideration neither the fact that their Thomas Roberts was born in Worcestershire, the only claimed child of this Kent family to have been born there; nor that Worcestershire is a long way from Kent; nor that the Roberts of Glassenbury had no ancestral connection with that western county. Worcestershire is, on the other hand, nearer Wales, where Roberts was and is one of the commonest names, as is Thomas. Neither have they taken into account the fact that the Irish Roberts of Glassenbury family of baronets (now resident in the USA) used to claim descent from the very same Thomas Roberts that the American websites claim. That descent was considered not capable of proof by Garter King at Arms, and accordingly a new Baronetage was created for the Irish Roberts family in 1809. The latest (1999) "Burke's Peerage" entry for the family claims no such descent.

The erroneous Woolaston-New Hampshire descent has been enshrined in the International Genealogical Index of the Mormon Church and is leading astray various amateur genealogists who do not have access to fuller sources. The probably reason for this is that, according to, amongst others, Col. J. W. Tyler, in his articles on the Kent and Sussex family in "Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica", vols. 6 & 7 (1927/8), various royal descents are traceable through this family, and thus the various web sites claim connections with Charlemagne and many many others.

Common sense, as well as a two volume typescript by Dorothy Wyndham on the family, which is deposited in the Society of Genealogists library in London, show that neither the Irish Roberts nor the American ones, can claim descent from this Thomas, and that if there is some reason for believing that the Irish family may be a branch of the Kent and Sussex one, there is no reason to suppose that the American family is in any way connected to them.

29th May 2002: Please also look at the following succinct web site which proves that the father of the American Thomas Roberts of Woolaston was a John Roberts and not Sir Thomas of the Glassenbury family: www.imt.net/~toss/Roberts.html (2nd December 2002) You might also look up my subsequent Blogger site, which has a promising fruitful line of ascent for the Roberts of Woolaston: RobertsofWoolaston.blogspot.com

Sir Thomas Roberts, of Glassenbury was created a baroner in 1620, the lands of whose grandfather Thomas Rohertes, were disgavelled by the act of 2 and 3 of King Edward VI. and from him it continued in succession down to Sir Walter Roberts, bart.

Origins

will of Walter Roberts names sons
after wife Frances died, house of Glassenburyto go to eldest son Thomas Roberts, and then his oldest male heir
-in default to Edmond Roberte my son and to his eldest heir male
-in default to Frances Roberte my son and to his eldest heir male
-in default to Alexander Roberte my son and to his eldest male heir
-in default to John Roberte my son and to his eldest male heir
-in default to Richard Roberte my son and to his eldest male heir
-in default to Edward my son and to his eldest male heir

References

• http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63396
• GEDCOM Note Sources include but are not limited to: Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints
• This individual was found on GenCircles at: http://www.gencircles.com/users/cproctor/1/data/11955
• 1628 DCb/J/J/43/68 Kent Records Office Pl: Sir Walter ROBERTS Bt son exor; Def.: Lady Frances ROBERTS rel; Thos ROBERTS & John ROBERTS, Frances ROBERTS als CRISPE wife of Henry CRISPE arm & Ann ROBERTS als CRISPE wife of Thos CRISPE childn; Ann COLEPEPPER als SNELGRAVE wife of Thos SNELGRAVE arm dau of Eliz ROBERTS als COLEPPER dau decd; Documents: Sent; Cas