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Elizabeth Cheney (1422-1473)
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Cheney later known as Elizabeth, Lady Tilney and Elizabeth, Lady Say, was an English
aristocrat
, who, by dint of her two marriages, was the great-grandmother of Anne Boleyn
, Jane Seymour
, and Catherine Howard
, three of the wives of King Henry VIII of England
, thus making her great-great-grandmother to King Edward VI
, the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, and Elizabeth I
, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Her first husband was Sir Frederick Tilney
, and her second husband was Sir John Say
, Speaker of the House of Commons
. She produced a total of nine children from both marriages.
, Cambridgeshire
in 1422, she was the eldest child of Sir Laurence or Lawrence Cheney or Cheyne (c. 1396 - 1461), High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire
and Elizabeth Cokayn or Cokayne She had three younger sisters, Anne, wife of John Appleyard; Mary, wife of John Allington; Catherine, wife of Henry Barley, and one brother, Sir John Cheney who married Elizabeth Rempston, by whom he had issue. She also had two half-brothers by her mother's first marriage to Sir Philip Butler, a member of the noble Irish family, the Butlers of Ormond
.
Her paternal grandparents were Sir William Cheney and Catherine Pabenham, and her maternal grandparents were Sir John Cockayne, Chief Baron of the Exchequer
and Ida de Grey
, the daughter of Reginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Ruthyn
and Eleanor Le Strange of Blackmere.
, and Boston, Lincolnshire
. He was the son of Sir Philip Tilney and Isabel Thorpe. They made their principal residence at Ashwellthorpe Manor. Together Sir Frederick and Elizabeth had one daughter:
Sir Frederick died in 1445, leaving their young daughter Elizabeth as heiress to his estates. Shortly before 1 December 1446, Elizabeth Cheney married secondly to Sir John Say
of Broxbourne, Speaker of the House of Commons
, and a member of the household of King Henry VI
. He was a member of the embassy, led by William de la Pole
, which was sent to France in 1444 to negotiate with King Charles VII
for the marriage between King Henry and Margaret of Anjou
.
Her father settled land worth fifty marks
clear per annum upon the couple and their issue before Candlemas 1453. They made their home at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire
.
Together Sir John and Elizabeth had three sons and five daughters:
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
, who, by dint of her two marriages, was the great-grandmother of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
, and Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
, three of the wives of King Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, thus making her great-great-grandmother to King Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
, the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, and Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Her first husband was Sir Frederick Tilney
Frederick Tilney
Sir Frederick Tilney Lord of Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk, and Boston, Lincolnshire was the husband of Elizabeth Cheney, Lady Say and father of Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey...
, and her second husband was Sir John Say
John Say
Sir John Say, Kt. was an English courtier, MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.-Life:He was the son of John Say, born before 1445, and his wife Maud...
, Speaker of the House of Commons
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
. She produced a total of nine children from both marriages.
Family
Born in Fen DittonFen Ditton
Fen Ditton is a village on the northeast edge of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. The parish covers an area of Fen Ditton lies on the east bank of the River Cam, on the road from Cambridge to Clayhithe, and close to junction 34 of the A14...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
in 1422, she was the eldest child of Sir Laurence or Lawrence Cheney or Cheyne (c. 1396 - 1461), High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire
High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire
This is a list of people who have served as High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire.-Before 1154:*Tempore Regis Eduardi: Aluric Godricson, Orgar, Blacuin*1066: Elfric* 1128: Fulk*1070–c.1090: Picot of Cambridge *Michaelmas 1129: Richard Basset with Aubrey de Vere...
and Elizabeth Cokayn or Cokayne She had three younger sisters, Anne, wife of John Appleyard; Mary, wife of John Allington; Catherine, wife of Henry Barley, and one brother, Sir John Cheney who married Elizabeth Rempston, by whom he had issue. She also had two half-brothers by her mother's first marriage to Sir Philip Butler, a member of the noble Irish family, the Butlers of Ormond
Ormond
-Places:* Ormond , an ancient kingdom in the Province of Munster* Ormond Beach, Florida, a city in Florida* Ormond-By-The-Sea, Florida, a city in Florida** Ormond Beach Middle School, a middle school located in the city of Ormond Beach...
.
Her paternal grandparents were Sir William Cheney and Catherine Pabenham, and her maternal grandparents were Sir John Cockayne, Chief Baron of the Exchequer
Exchequer
The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...
and Ida de Grey
Ida de Grey
Ida, Lady Cockayne , born Ida or Edith de Grey, was a Cambro-Norman noblewoman, and the daughter of Reginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Ruthyn, a powerful Welsh Marcher lord. The Greys of Ruthyn were the chief Marcher barons in the northern region of the Welsh Marches.Ida married Sir John Cockayne,...
, the daughter of Reginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Ruthyn
Reginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Ruthyn
Reginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Ruthyn was the son of Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn and Elizabeth de Hastings. He was summoned to Parliament from 1354 to 1388.-Marriage and children:...
and Eleanor Le Strange of Blackmere.
Marriages and issue
On an unknown date, Elizabeth married her first husband Sir Frederick Tilney, of Ashwellthorpe, NorfolkNorfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, and Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
. He was the son of Sir Philip Tilney and Isabel Thorpe. They made their principal residence at Ashwellthorpe Manor. Together Sir Frederick and Elizabeth had one daughter:
- Elizabeth TilneyElizabeth TilneyElizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey was an English heiress and lady-in-waiting to two queens. She became the first wife of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey....
(before 1445- 4 April 1497), married firstly in about 1466, Sir Humphrey Bourchier, by whom she had three children; and secondly on 30 April 1472, Thomas Howard, Earl of SurreyThomas Howard, 2nd Duke of NorfolkThomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal , styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1514, was the only son of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk by his first wife, Katherine Moleyns...
, who later became the 2nd Duke of Norfolk, by whom she had nine children. These children included Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of NorfolkThomas Howard, 3rd Duke of NorfolkThomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages...
, Elizabeth HowardElizabeth Boleyn, Countess of WiltshireElizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire , born Lady Elizabeth Howard, was the eldest of the two daughters of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and his first wife Elizabeth Tilney. Through her marriage, she held the titles of Countess of Wiltshire, Countess of Ormond and Viscountess Rochford...
, mother of Anne Boleyn, and Lord Edmund HowardLord Edmund HowardLord Edmund Howard was the third son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and first wife Elizabeth Tilney. His sister, Elizabeth, was the mother of Henry VIII's second Queen, Anne Boleyn, and he was the father of the King's fifth Queen, Katherine Howard.-Biography:Howard was born about 1478...
, father of Catherine Howard.
Sir Frederick died in 1445, leaving their young daughter Elizabeth as heiress to his estates. Shortly before 1 December 1446, Elizabeth Cheney married secondly to Sir John Say
John Say
Sir John Say, Kt. was an English courtier, MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.-Life:He was the son of John Say, born before 1445, and his wife Maud...
of Broxbourne, Speaker of the House of Commons
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
, and a member of the household of King Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
. He was a member of the embassy, led by William de la Pole
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, KG , nicknamed Jack Napes , was an important English soldier and commander in the Hundred Years' War, and later Lord Chamberlain of England.He also appears prominently in William Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 1 and Henry VI, part 2 and other...
, which was sent to France in 1444 to negotiate with King Charles VII
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
for the marriage between King Henry and Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453...
.
Her father settled land worth fifty marks
Marks
Marks , also spelled Marx, named after Karl Marx, is a town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Saratov. Population: It was founded in 1767 as a Volga German community called Baronsk . It was soon renamed Yekaterinenshtadt , after Catherine the Great. In 1918, it was granted town...
clear per annum upon the couple and their issue before Candlemas 1453. They made their home at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
.
Together Sir John and Elizabeth had three sons and five daughters:
- Sir William Say (1452- 1529), Sheriff of Somerset and DorsetSheriffA sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
(1478-79), Sheriff of Essex and HertfordshireSheriffA sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
(1482-83), married secondly Elizabeth Fray, widow of Sir Thomas Waldegrave, by whom he had two daughters, Mary Say and Elizabeth Say. Mary, the eldest daughter married Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of EssexEarl of EssexEarl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals. The earldom was first created in the 12th century for Geoffrey II de Mandeville . Upon the death of the third earl in 1189, the title became dormant or extinct...
and 6th Baron BourchierBaron BourchierThe title Baron Bourchier is an abeyant peerage which was created in the Peerage of England in 1342 for Sir Robert Bourchier, who had been Lord High Chancellor from 1340–41....
, by whom she had one daughter, Anne Bourchier, 7th Baroness BourchierAnne Bourchier, 7th Baroness BourchierAnne Bourchier was the suo jure 7th Baroness Bourchier, suo jure Lady Lovayne, and Baroness Parr of Kendal. She was the first wife of William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, Earl of Essex, and the sister-in-law of Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII of England.She created a scandal in... - Thomas Say
- Rev. Leonard Say, a Roman Catholic priest
- Anne Say (died 1478/1494), married Henry Wentworth, Sheriff of YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, by whom she had issue, including Margery WentworthMargery WentworthMargery Wentworth, also known as Margaret Wentworth was the wife of Sir John Seymour and the mother of Queen Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII of England. She was the grandmother of King Edward VI of England.-Family:...
, mother of Jane Seymour. - Mary Say, married Sir Philip Calthorpe, by whom she had issue.
- Elizabeth Say, married Thomas Sampson
- Katherine Say, married Thomas Bassingbourne
- Unnamed daughter, died young
Royal Descendants
Death
On 25 September 1473, aged 51, Elizabeth Cheney died. She was buried in the church at Broxbourne. Following her death, John Say remarried to Agnes Danvers. He died five years later on 12 April 1478. Sometime after 1478, Elizabeth's eldest son, Sir William Say, married his second wife, Elizabeth Fray, a daughter of his stepmother Agnes, by her first husband, Sir John Fray (1419- 1461), Chief Baron of the Exchequer.Titles from birth to death
- 1422-before 1445: Mistress Elizabeth Cheney
- Before 1445-1445: Lady Tilney
- 1445-Before 1 December 1446: Elizabeth, Lady Tilney
- Before 1 December 1446-25 September 1473: Lady Say
Ancestry
Sources
- John Smith Roskell, Parliament and Politics in Late Medieval England, Vol.2, Google Books, accessed 9 September 2009