William Leigh, of Shawell & Rushall

William Leigh

• Birth: Circa 1515 - Leicester, Leicestershire, England
• Parents: Roger Leigh, Alice Trafford
• Ancestor of the Leighs of Rushall.
• He married Elizabeth Harpur, daughter of Sir John Harpur of Rushall. [1]
• Gentleman usher to Henry VIII.[2]

From Records of Rushall, County Stafford: With a Transcript of the Old Parish ... By Frederick William Willmore. "The Family of Leigh," Page 40:

William Leigh, who now came into possession of Rushall, was the representative of an bld and wealthy family, which assumed their name from the township of High Leigh, in Cheshire. Here they were seated before the Conquest. Sir Piers Leigh, a descendant, was beheaded in 1399, by order of the Duke of Lancaster, for his adherence to King Richard. His eldest son Sir Peter was slain at the battle of Agincourt. Roger Leigh, who lived in the time of Henry VIII., had several sons, the youngest of whom was Sir Thomas Leigh, Lord Mayor of London in 1558, and from whom are descended the Leighs of Stoneleigh, in Warwickshire. Another son named Roger was Usher to Queen Mary. The eldest brother of Sir Thomas Leigh was William Leigh of Wellington, in Shropshire, and Shawell, in Leicestershire, who married in 1540, the daughter and coheiress of Sir John Harpur, of Rushall. He was probably the first of the Leigh family to reside there, although Burke in his Peerage mentions two Richard Leighs as preceding him.

William Leigh was Gentleman Usher of the chamber to King Henry VIII.,(A) and likewise Register General for the counties of Cambridge and Huntingdon. We also learn that "his office of receaver hevaiinmMs. surrendered on the 21st day of May, in the 37th year of King Henry the VIII." He died on March 9th, 1550. William Leigh left a son Henry, who married Katherine, daughter of Sir John Dunham, of Kirklington. On the death of her husband about 1565, she married Ralph Okeover, Esq., of Okeover, whom she survived and died in 1579. Henry Leigh was godchild to Henry VIII., and, as an old chronicle Hutherton Ms informs us, "died out of his witts."

Source: Records of Rushall, County Stafford: With a Transcript of the Old Parish ... Page 82. < GoogleBooks >

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References

1. Page: Visitation of Warwickshire 1682 Harleian Society Vol. LXII (1911) Leigh of Stoneleigh pp.10-12.  
2.  A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance.  England (Google eBook) John Burke 1831.  Page 310.  "Leigh"
3. "Pedigree of the Leigh Family of Rushall." Records of Rushall, County Stafford: With a Transcript of the Old Parish Register and Extracts from the Churchwardens' Accounts (Google eBook) Frederick William Willmore.  Robinson, 1892 - 195 pages.  Page 82
4. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=janeauste...
5. http://www.multiwords.de/genealogy/leigh09.htm
6. WikiTree contributors, "William Leigh (abt.1500-1550)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Leigh-2602 : accessed 08 May 2024). cites
   1. A History of Walsall and Its Neighbourhood By Frederic William Willmore p. 144
   2. The Baronetage of England: Or The History of the English Baronets ..., Volume 1 By William Betham, p. 278
   3. Records of Rushall County, Stafford, with a Transcript of the Old Parish Register and Extracts from the Churchwardens' Accounts, Frederic W. Willmore, pp 40-41