William BOYNTON (1580 – 1615) was Alex’s 11th Great Grandfather; one of 4,096 in this generation of the Miller line.

William Boynton was born 1580 Knapton Wintringham, Yorkshire, England. His parents were William BOYNTON and Janet WOODE. He married Elizabeth Janet CHAMBERS 1 Apr 1607 in Knapton Wintringham, Yorkshire, England. William died 2 Jul 1615 in Knapton Wintringham, Yorkshire, England

Elizabeth Janet Chambers was born 1581 in Knapton Wintringham, Yorkshire, England. Elizabeth died in 1640 in Rowley, Essex, Mass.

Children of William and Elizabeth

	Name	Born	Married	Departed
1.	William Boynton	1605 East Riding, Yorkshire, England	Elizabeth Jackson 1630 in England	8 Dec 1686 Ipswich, Essex, Mass
2.	Anne Boynton	1606 Knapton, Wintringham, North Riding Yorkshire
3.	Edward Boynton	1608 Knapton, Wintringham, North Riding Yorkshire		1 Apr 1609 Wintringham, Yorkshire, England
4.	Margerie Boynton	1610 Knapton, Wintringham, North Riding Yorkshire
5.	John BOYNTON	1614 in Knapton, Wintringham, North Riding Yorkshire	Elinor PELL 21 Feb 1643 in Boston, Mass.	18 Feb 1669/70 in Rowley, Mass.

William was the youngest son and executor of his father’s estate.

William’s Ancestry

Parents – William BOYNTON was born about 1545 in Knapton, Wintringham, York,  He died on 2 Jul 1615 in Knapton.   m1. Janet WOODE; m2.  Margaret [__?__]. Left second wife Margaret as widow. Four sons: Francis who died at Knapton in 1638, Daniel of East Heslerton, John, William. Two daughters: Anne and Margaret.

Grandparents – Roger BOYNTON was born in 1518 in Knapton, Wintringham, York, Eng. He died in 1558 in Knapton.   He married Jenet WATSON in 1540 in England. Four sons: James, Richard, William, Edmund. One daughter: Alice.

Great Grandparents – James BOYNTON was born about 1495 in Wintringham, Yorkshire, Eng. He died about 7 Mar 1542 in Wintringham. He married Jane [__?__]. three sons: Roger, William, and Christopher)

2nd Great Grandparents – Robert BOYNTON  was born about 1465 in East Heslerton, York, Eng. He died in 1526. He married Mary Agnes STROPE. Four sons: John of East Heslerton, Richard of Newton who died in 1539, William a priest, and James.

3rd Great Grandparents – Sir Christopher BOYNTON of Sadbury was born about 1445. – Had estates in Heslerton, Newton, and in the Parish of Wintringham. First married Elizabeth Wanford. One son William died without issue. His second wife was Jane STRANGEWAYS, daughter of Robert STRANGEWAYS of Kelton. Two sons: Sir Christopher and Robert. Two daughters: Elizabeth and Jane.

4th Great Grandparents – Sir Christopher BOYNTON was born in Sadbury, Yorkshire, England. He married Elizabeth COIGNES who was born in Ornesbury, England and was daughter of Sir John COIGNES of Ormesbury

5th Great Grandparents – Sir Thomas BOYNTON of Acklam  m. Isabel NORMANVILLE, daughter of Sir William NORMANVILLE of Kildwick. Two sons, Henry (eldest and heir from whom descends present Baronet) and Christopher.  This is where the ancestry of immigrants John and William split from Sir Matthew Boynton, 1st Baronet who financed their expedition to found a settlement in what became Rowley Massachusetts settlement.

By his will dated 25 Jan 1460, and proved at York 15 Oct 1461. Sir Thomas left an annuity to his two sisters, Elizabeth and Alice, 100s. each out of his land in Boynton-on-the-Wold ; and all his goods he leaves to Isabel his wife and Henry his son, and appoints them his executors.

6th Great Grandparents – William BOYNTON, of Acklam. William married Jane HARDING, daughter of Simon HARDING.

Children of William and Jane:

i. Thomas  

ii.. Elizabeth, mentioned in her brother’s will.

iii.. Alice, mentioned in her brother’s will.

Twenty years and two kings after his father lost his head in a Percy rebellion, William Boynton appealed to Henry VI for the return of the family lands. William was heir to his brother Thomas who died without issue.  He presented a petition to the King that two messuages [A dwelling house with outbuildings and land assigned to its use in other words a farm], three cottages and sixteen bovates  of land in Boynton which his father Henry had assigned to his brother’s wife, Margaret, in dower, might be restored to him.

1. The rod is a historical unit of length equal to 5½ yards. It may have originated from the typical length of a mediaeval  ox-goad.
2. The furlong (meaning furrow length) was the distance a team of oxen could plough without resting. This was standardized to be exactly 40 rods.
3. An acre was the amount of land tillable by one man behind one ox in one day. Traditional acres were long and narrow due to the difficulty in turning the plough.
4. An oxgang was the amount of land tillable by one ox in a ploughing season. This could vary from village to village, but was typically around 15 acres. Bovate is another word for Oxgang.   [16 bovates would have been about 240 acres or about 100 hectares]
5. A virgate was the amount of land tillable by two oxen in a ploughing season.
6. A carucate was the amount of land tillable by a team of eight oxen in a ploughing season. This was equal to 8 oxgangs or 4 virgates
7. Knight’s Fee – 9 Carucates – A knightly fee was supposed to be sufficient for a knight to support himself and family.

This property had been forfeited through Henry Boynton’s revolt against King Henry IV, and was still in the King’s hands. William petitions for the restoration of the manor of Roxby and the moiety of the manor of Newton-under-Osenburgh, and of a messuage, a cottage, five bovates and forty acres of land in Snainton, North Riding, Yorkshire. All this property had been forfeited by reason of his father’s revolt.

William’s Appeal:

1425. Membrane 13d.
June 11. Westminister.

Commission to Robert Tirwhyt, John Preston and James Strangways, or any two of them, to hold inquisition in the county York, and certify the result into the chancery, relative to a petition presented by William Boynton, as follows: A certain Ingelram de Muncels by deed within the time of legal memory, gave with Alice his daughter in marriage to a certain William de Boynton, who did marry her, and to their heirs of their bodies, 2 messuages, 3 cottages, and 16 bovates of land in Boynton, co. York, by the name of 3 carucates of land in Boiunton, the whole being in the demesne  [The land which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants.] except 2 bovates which Henry, son of Peter held; which 2 bovates are part of the said 3 carucates, together with a capital messuage in the said town.

By virtue of which gift the said William and Alice were peaceably seised in the time of king Edward I, and from them the right of the premises successively descended to Ingelram, their son and heir, Walter, his son and heir, Thomas, his son and heir, Thomas son and heir of the said Thomas, Henry son and heir of the said Thomas son of Thomas, Thomas son and heir of the said Henry, and, the last named Thomas dying without heir of his body, to William Boynton the petitioner, his brother and heir. But the premises came into the hands of Henry IV because it was found by inquisition taken at Gysburn on 24 Juanary, 10 Henry IV, before Thomas de Santon, escheator in the county of York, that Margaret late the wife of Thomas de Boynton, knight, held in dower on the day of her death, 2 messuages, 3 cottages and 16 bovates of land in Boynton by assignment of Henry de Boynton, knight, with reversion to him and the heirs of his body;

and this Henry on 10 July, 6 Henry IV, at Berwyk on Tweed, rose against his said king, for which insurrection and for holding the castle of Berwyk on Tweed against the king’s power, he was adjudged to death; by which forfeiture the said messuages, cottages and bovates after the death of the said Margaret, came to the hands of Henry IV, and are still in the king’s hands. Now the Henry de Boynton mentioned in the inquisition is the same person as Henry the petitioner’s father, and the petitioner prays that right may be done him in the matter. By p.s.

The like commission to the same on another petition presented by the said William as follows: A certain fine was levied at Westminister in the quinzaine of Michaelmass,  [Michaelmas was the feast of St Michael the Archangel – 29 Sept – and the Quinzaine of any feast was the day two weeks later – in this case, 13 October (‘quinzaine’ means ‘fifteenth’, i.e. the fifteenth day after the feast, including the feast day itself in the calculation).]  14 Edward III, before John de Stonore and his fellows, then justices of the common Bench, between Thomas son of Walter de Boynton and Catherine his wife, plaintiffs, and William Moubray, clerk, deforciant, whereby the said Thomas and Catherine recognised the manor of Rouceby and the moiety of the manor of Neuton under Osenburgh, co. York, to be the right of the said William Moubray, by their gift;

and the said William Moubray, in return, granted the premises to them and the heirs of their bodies; of virtue of which fine they were seised, and from them the right descended successively to Thomas their son and heir, Henry his son and heir and so forth as above.

The said manor of Rouceby was granted for life to Elizabeth, late the wife of the said Henry, by letters patent of Henry IV by the name of the town of Rouceby, with the appurtenances;

and after her death came into the hands of Henry V, and is in the king’s hands; and the moiety of the said manor of Neuton came into the hands of Henry IV by virtue of the said inqisition before Thomas de Santon. By p.s.

The like commission on a petition by the same William Boynton relative to a messuage, a cottage and 5 bovates and 40 acres of land in Snaynton, co. York, granted by deed by William de Boiunton to Ingelram his eldest born son and Margaret his wife and the heirs of their bodies, by the name of all the land which he had in the town of Snaington in desmesne, free service, bondage and cottier service (cotagio) with all foreign tillages (forinsecis culturis) which he had in the same town, whereof the said Ingelram and Margaret were seised in the time of Edward I. From them the right descended as mentioned in the last commission but one, the land being in the king’s hands by virtue of the inquisition before Thomas de Santon, already twice mentioned. By p.s.

Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry VI, 1422-1429, printed for his Majesty’s Stationery Office, pp. 301-302.

the Authorization of return of the land.

July 14. 1427. Westminster. Membrane 2.

To the escheator in Yorkshire. Order to give William Boynton brother of Thomas livery of two messsuages, three cottages and sixteen bovates of land in Boynton;

as upon the finding of an inquisition, taken in York castle 7 August 3 Henry VI before Robert Tirwhit, John Preston and James Strangways by virtue of a commission to them addressed, that Ingram de Muncels by writing made after the time of memory gave the premises to William de Boninton in marriage with Alice his daughter, to them and the heirs of their bodies, by name of three carucates of land in Boninton, namely all in demesne except two bovates held by Henry son of Peter which are those three carucates, together with a capital messuage there, that they were thereof seised by the form of the gift in the time of King Edward I, taking the esplees as in letting of messuages and cottages, the corn, herbage and other kinds of issues amounting to half  mark and more, that from them the right descended, and ought to descent to Ingram as their son and heir, and from him to Walter as his son and heir, and from Walter to Thomas as his son and heir, and from Thomas to Thomas as his son and heir, and from Thomas son of Thomas to Henry as his son and heir, and from Henry to Thomas as his son and heir, and from Thomas son of Henry, for that he died without issue, to William Boynton as his brother and heir, that the same came to the hands of King Henry IV for that it was found by inquisition, taken at Gysburne 24 January 10 Henry IV  [1409] before Thomas de Santon then escheator, that Margaret who was wife of Thomas de Boynton knight at her death held the premises in dower by assignment of Henry de Boynton knight with reversion to him and the heirs of his body, that on 20 July 6 Henry IV  [1405] Henry de Boynton rose in insurrection at Berwyk upon Twede, contrary to his allegiance, that he was convicted of insurrection and of holding Berwyk castle against that king’s power, and was adjudged to death, that by reason of his forfeiture the same pertained to King Henry IV after the death of the said Margaret, that they are the same which are specified by William Boynton in his petition to the king, that Henry de Boynton named in that inquisition was the same as Henry father of William Boynton, and that by letters patent on 5 March 10 Henry IV that king committed to Christopher de Boynton the keeping of the same;

and after upon petition of William Boynton brother of Thomas, praying that the commission to the said Christopher should be revoked and livery of the premises given to the petitioner, the king ordered the sheriff to give the said Christopher notice to be in chancery at a day now past in order to shew cause wherefore the commission to him in respect of the premises ought not to be revoked etc., and the sheriff returned that he gave him notice accordingly; and at that day the said Christopher came not, wherefore by advice of the justices, serjeants at law and others of the council learned in the law it was determined that the same should be revoked in respect of the premises, and William Babthorp suing for the king came and alleged that divers charters, muniments etc. affecting the king’s right were in the treasury it was said, in the keeping of the treasurer and the chamberlains, and it seemed good to the justices, serjeants at law and others of the council aforesaid that before further proceedings were taken in that cause the king should be fully certified concerning the same, if any there were, and at request of William Babthorp and the said serjeants the king commanded the treasurer and the chamberlains to make search of records, rolls, memoranda, charters, muniments etc. in the treasury in their keeping which concerned the premises, and at days now past to certify in chancery what they should find, and they did certify that search was made, and none were found, and deliberation being had with the justices etc. it was after determined that livery should be given to William Boynton.

…

To [the same]. Like order, mutatis mutandis, concerning a messuage, a cottage, five bovates and 40 acres of land in Snayton, upon a finding that after the time of memory William Boninton by deed gave the same to Ingram his firstborn son and to Margaret his wife and the heirs of their bodies, by name of all the land of William de Boninton in Snaington in desmesne and free service in bondage and cottage with all foreign culture which he had there, that they were thereof seised taking esplees to the amount of 20s. and more, that from them the right descended to Walter etc. (as above), that the said messuage, cottage, close and five bovates were held in dower by Margaret who was wife of Thomas etc., and that the keeping thereof was committed to Christopher de Boynton etc. (as above).

June 28. 1427.

To [the same]. Like order, mutatis mutandis, concerning a moiety of the manor of Neuton under Ounesbegh, upon a finding that a fine levied at Westminster in the quinzaine of Michaelmas 14 Edward III between Thomas son of Walter de Boynton and Katherine his wife plaintiffs and William Moubray clerk deforciant of the manor of Rouceby and a moiety of the manor of Neuton under Osenbergh, whereby the plaintiffs acknowledged the right of the deforciant, and he made a grant of the said manor and moiety to them and the heirs of their bodies, that they were thereof seised, taking the esplees as in letting of messuages, corn, herbage, mowing of the meadow, falling of wood and underwood, rents, arrears etc. (as before), that the late king granted the manor of Rouceby to Elizabeth who was wife of Henry Boynton for her life, by name of the town of Rouceby which was of the said Henry and was forfeit by reason of his rebellion that after her death, the same came to the late king’s hands and is yet in the king’s hand, that the said moiety came to the hands of King Henry IV etc. (as before), was held in dower by Margaret who was wife of Thomas, and the keeping thereof was committed to the said Christopher (as before).

July 14. 1427.

To the same. Like order, mutatis mutandis, concerning the manor of Rouceby.

7th Great Grandparents – Sir Henry BOYNTON of Acklam was beheaded on 2 Jul 1405 at Berwick-on-Tweed Castle. m. Elizabeth MERRIFIELD, daughter of Sir John MERRIFIELD

Alternatively, Sir Henry married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Conyers, of Sockburne, in the Bishopric of Durham ; she afterwards became the wife of John Felton.

He had joined Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, Thomas Mowbray, and Richard le Scrope Archbishop of York who had taken up arms in the Northern Rising against Henry IV in 1405. They were defeated and Henry was executed with 7 others.

A mandate was issued to the Mayor of Newcastle-on-Tyne to receive the head of Henry Boynton, “chivaler,” [Archaic. a knight.] and to place it on the bridge of the town to stay there as long as it would last, but within a month another mandate* was issued to the Mayor to take down the head, where it was lately placed by the King’s command, and to deliver it to Sir Henry’s wife for burial.

Sir Henry  was young and unexperianced, probably in his late twenties, when he succeeded his grandfather Sir Thomas in 1402 and inherited the Boynton family fortune.  He was suspected to be in the interest of Henry (Percy) Earl of Northumberland and his son Henry Hotspur, who had taken arms against the King, Henry IV, for in the fourth year of his reign, when the battle of Shrewsbury (Jul 21 1403) was fought. (See Henry IV Part 1 where  Hotspur was slain)

John Wockerington, Gerald Heron and John Mitford were commissioned to tender an oath to this Henry de Boynton and others,  to be true to the King and renounce Henry, Earl of Northumberland and his adherents

Yet two years after the Percys defeat  at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403,   Sir Henry was involved in the Northern Rising against Henry IV.

In 1405 Northumberland, joined by Lord Bardolf, again took up arms against the King. The rising was doomed from the start due to Northumberland’s failure to capture Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland. Scrope, together with Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk, and Scrope’s nephew, Sir William Plumpton, had assembled a force of some 8000 men on Shipton Moor on 27 May, but instead of giving battle Scrope parleyed with Westmorland, and was tricked into believing that his demands would be accepted and his personal safety guaranteed.  (For Shakespeare’s take on this meeting in Henry IV Part 2 Act IV Scenes i-iii, see my post   Shakespearean Ancestors.)

Once their army had disbanded on 29 May, Scrope and Mowbray were arrested and taken to Pontefract Castle to await the King, who arrived at York on 3 June. The King denied them trial by their peers, and a commission headed by the Earl of Arundel and Sir Thomas Beaufort sat in judgment on Scrope, Mowbray and Plumpton in Scrope’s own hall at his manor of Bishopthorpe, some three miles south of York.

The Chief Justice, Sir William Gascoigne, refused to participate in such irregular proceedings and to pronounce judgment on a prelate, and it was thus left to the lawyer Sir William Fulthorpe to condemn Scrope to death for treason. Scrope, Mowbray and Plumpton were taken to a field belonging to the nunnery of Clementhorpe which lay just under the walls of York, and before a great crowd were beheaded on 8 June 1405, Scrope requesting the headsman to deal him five blows in remembrance of the five wounds of Christ.

Although Scrope’s participation in the Percy rebellion of 1405 is usually attributed to his opposition to the King’s proposal to temporarily confiscate the clergy’s landed wealth, his motive for taking an active military role in the rising continues to puzzle historians.

Pope Innocent VII excommunicated all those involved in Scrope’s execution. However Archbishop Arundel failed to publish the Pope’s decree in England, and in 1407 Henry IV was pardoned by Pope Gregory XII

Meanwhile Sir Henry fled to Berwick  Castle.  Henry de Boynton was  beheaded on 2 Jul 1405 along with six other knights who were captured when the castle at Berwick upon Tweed was taken. Henry Percy escaped into Scotland.

A mandate was issued to the Mayor of Newcastle-on-Tyne to receive the head of Henry Boynton, “chivaler,” [Archaic. a knight.] and to place it on the bridge of the town to stay there as long as it would last, but within a month another mandate* was issued to the Mayor to take down the head, where it was lately placed by the King’s command, and to deliver it to Sir Henry’s wife for burial.

After the insurrection had been crushed Henry IV inserted into the record of Parliament the perfidy of Henry Percy. Among the indictments was the claim that Henry Percy had appointed Henry Boynton to negotiate for him with the kings of Scotland and France. Whether he engaged in negotiations or was only appointed to engage in negotiations is not clear from the text. But it suggests a close — if surreptitious — working relationship. A relationship that cost Henry Boynton his head.

Sir Henry’s property, the manor of Acklam in Cleveland, with all members being forfeited and in the King’s hands, was granted to Roger de Thornton, Mayor of Newcastle-on-Tyne but in the following August*” a grant was made for life to Elizabeth, late the wife of Henry Boynton, who had not wherewithal to maintain herself and six children or to pay her late husband’s debts, of the towns of Roxby and Newton, late the said Henry’s and forfeited to the King, on account of his rebellion, to hold to the value of £20 yearly, and there was granted to her also all his goods, likewise forfeited, to the value of £20, and she must answer for any surplus.

The Percy Rebellion (1402–1408) was three attempts by the Percy family and their allies to overthrow Henry IV:

• Battle of Shrewsbury (1403). King Henry IV defeated a rebel army led by Henry Hotspur Percy who had allied with the Welsh rebel Owain Glyndŵr. Percy was killed in the battle by an arrow in his face. [In hand to hand combat with Prince Hall in Henry IV Part I]. Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, Sir Richard Venables and Sir Richard Vernon were publicly hanged, drawn and quartered in Shrewsbury on 23 July and their heads publicly displayed. The Earl of Northumberland flees to Scotland.
• Archbishop of York Richard le Scrope lead a failed rebellion in northern England (1405). Scrope and other rebel leaders including  Sir Henry BOYNTON are executed. The Earl of Northumberland again flees to Scotland.
• Battle of Bramham Moor (1408). The Earl of Northumberland invades Northern England with Scottish and Northumbrian allies but is defeated and killed in battle.

Children of Sir Henry and Elizabeth:

i. Thomas (1393-1424), son and heir of Sir Henry,’ aged 12 in 1405, married Margaret, daughter of Peter Mirfield, and died without issue.

ii. William 

iii. Henry

iv. Elizabeth, m. Thomas Marton, of Marton-in-Cleveland.

v. Jennett m. John Wydysforth.

vi. Another child.

8th Great Grandparents – Sir Thomas de  BOYNTON ( – 1381/86) was lord of Acklam,  in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Thomas died  in the lifetime of his father.   He probably married twice. (m1.) A daughter of the house of Conyers, by whom he had no issue.

(m2.) Margaret  SPEETON, daughter of John SPEEDTON, of Sawcock.* She died in 1409. By her Sir Thomas had issue, two sons, Henry, and Christopher.

Sir Thomas was Lieutenant and Constable of Carlisle under Henry Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland in 1383.  Carlisle Castle, still relatively intact, was built in 1092 by William Rufus, and having once served as a prison for Mary, Queen of Scots

He is probably the Thomas Boynton, Kt., who held one acre of land at Smithpole, in Little Burdon, in the parish of Bishopwearmouth in the time of Bishop Hatfield.

His family had held land in Boynton and added land in Acklam and Roxby to their holdings as early as 1230. Thomas’ family , was moderately wealthy and they were distinguished persons in the history of the county. Just north of Acklam was County Durham. The Prince Bishop of Durham had his own army, money, taxes, and justice system. Thomas served as sheriff of Durham for bishop John of Fordham, 1385-1387, and also for Walter of Skirlaw from 1391 to 1401. He also served as escheator for bishop Walter.

In addition to his work for the bishop of Durham Thomas worked with the Percys in several ways, but, apparently, not economically. The North Riding Boyntons did not hold land from the Percys  nor are there any economic charters that involve them. However, they clearly knew each other and worked together in other arenas. Thomas visited the castle at Alnwick in 1376 to celebrate a religious holiday. He worked with Henry Percy on the Commission of Peace for the North Riding of Yorkshire. They were both members of the Commission in 1385 and 1386.

When Hotspur, the son of the earl of Northumberland, became warden of Carlisle in 1390 he appointed Thomas Boynton constable of the castle  . The king said that Hotspur could take advantage of “meadows, pastures, and fisheries” that other wardens had used. It seems likely that Thomas could take part of that as the constable. Thomas Boynton and the Percys do not seem to have shared land other than the land valued at 1 s. per person he shared with Henry Percy and 31 other families. Since he was twice on the Percy list — the charter in 1376 and the roll of 1388 — he must have been involved in Percy led battles against the Scots. And there is one other bit of evidence that he was a warring person. In his will he made provision for his “armaments.”

Children of Sir Thomas and Margaret:

i. Henry

ii. Christopher – Died on the Saturday before the Feast of St. Lucy, 30 Henry VI (1451), and Sir William Bowes, Kt., and John Ruddeston, clerk, were seized of Castle Levington to the uses of his will.’m. Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir to Sir Robert Conyers, of Ormesby, in the County of York, and by her had a son Christopher

Christopher founded the Sedbury branch of the Boynton family. He was an executor of his father’s will, and is said to have been guardian to his nephew Thomas, son of Sir Henry Boynton
in the time of Henry IV.

Christopher Boynton, Henry’s younger brother, took up law, and threw in with the Nevilles, the other distinguished family from the north. He had a long and distinguished career as a public lawyer. He was the lawyer who could make a quorum for the Commission of Peace in the North Riding. He served on the Commissions of Peace, Assize, and Gaol Delivery in Durham. He was on retainer to the city of York, and he served the king on many ad hoc commissions.

In 11 Henry IV (1410) there was a Commission issued to Christopher Boynton and others to inquire into the capture of salmon and fry in the Rivers Humber, Ouse, Don, Aire, Derwent, Wharf, Nidd, Yore, Swale and Tees, contrary to the statute of Westminster, and to punish offenders. Later, in 1414, he was one of those who had to inquire into the report that certain lands, held by John de Darcy, chivaler, and Elizabeth, late the wife of Philip, late Lord of Darcy on the days of their deaths, were more than were specified in the inquisitions taken.  In 1417 he was on a Commission concerning walls and ditches in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

During the same year he was one of the Commissioners of array for the defense of the realm during the King’s absence in foreign parts,’ and in 1418, he acts as escheator in the County of York. In 1419 he is called upon with others to treat about a loan to be paid to the King for the resistance of the malice of the King’s enemies; in 1422 with others he is “to inquire into the report that whereas divers progenitors of the King, Kings of England, in the first foundation of the Hospital of St. Leonard, York, granted to the master, brethren and poor people of it, a thrave of corn [24 sheaves] each year from all ploughs in the Counties of York, Lancaster, Westmorland and Cumberland for the maintenance of the said brethren and poor people, and Pope Alexander III confirmed the alms, and the master and brethren have had the same, nevertheless divers men of the said parts, religious and others, refuse to render the thraves to Robert FitzHugh, clerk, now master, and the brethren. And during the same year Christopher Boynton with William Stapulton are to survey all defects in the Castle of Carlisle and the other houses and buildings of the Castle, and the walls of the town, and report thereon.s We hear no more of this Christopher Boynton until in 1439-40 he is party to a deed relating to the Manor of Quicke in Sadleworthfrith.

9th Great Grandparents – Sir Thomas de BOYNTON of Acclam (known to be alive between 1340-1402) m. Katherine ROSSELLS, daughter and co-heir of Sir Gifford ROSSELLS of Newton-under-Roseberry. Lord of the ancient demense in Boynton of Acclome and Aresome (in right of his mother) and of Rouseby, Newton and Swaynton (by his wife).

There is a fine dated in the quinzane of Michaelmas 14 Ed. Ill (1340) between Thomas, son of Walter de Boynton, and Katherine his wife plaintiffs, and William Moubray, clerk, deforciant, whereby the said Thomas and Katherine recognized the manor of Roxby and the moiety of the manor of Newton under Osenburgh to be the right of the said William Moubray by their gift, and the said William Moubray in return granted the premises to them and the heirs of their bodies.* There is another fine in 1340, between the same, but coupling Acklam with Roxby, whereby Thomas and Katherine and the heirs of their bodies are to hold the said properties, with remainder as to Acklam and Roxby to
the heirs of the body of Thomas, with remainder to his right heirs ; remainder as to Newton to the heirs of the body of Katherine, with remainder to the heirs of the body of Thomas, with remainder to the right heirs of Katherine.

Sir Thomas’s will is dated 26th July, and proved 6 Sep 1402. He desires to be buried in the Church of Acklam.

In 1366 Sir Thomas had free warren in Acklam, Airesome, Roxby, Newton, Stainton and Boynton.’

Children of Sir Thomas and Katherine:

i. Thomas   died before his father.

ii. Henry, who used a trefoil on his seal.

iii. Elizabeth, mentioned in her brother’s will.

iv. Alice, mentioned in her brother’s will.

10th Great Grandparents – Sir Walter de BOYNTON 14 Edward III Knighted 1356 in the service of the Prince of Wales in Brittany — m. Katherine ALTON, daughter of William ALTON

Lord of Acklam.’ He was in the service of the Black Prince in 1356, and had the King’s letters of protection. He is mentioned in a grant of land to Handale Priory in Cleveland,” and also in a deed without date concerning land in Roxby, naming a yearly payment of a pair of spurs at a penny price.* He is mentioned as receiving the honor of knighthood and being lord of the manor of Roxby .

Children of Sir Walter and Katherine

i. Thomas.

ii. John, mentioned in his brother’s will. He is probably the John who witnesses a Thornholm deed in 1412.

iii. William.

11th Great Grandparents– Ingelram (Ingraham) BOYNTON (c. 1300 – c. 1340) m. Margaret GRINDALL

Held three parts of a Knight’s fee in Acklam, Linthorpe, Thornton, Marton, Tollesby and Roxby. His father, Sir William Boynton, had given him (his eldest born son) and Margaret his wife and the heirs of their bodies, by the name of all the land which he had in the town of Snainton in demesne, free service, bondage and cottier service [cotagio) with all foreign tillages {forenescis culluris) which he had in the same town whereof Ingelram and Margaret were seized in the time of Edward I.-

In 1310 Ingelram de Bovington gave to the canons of Helagh Park in frank-almoign, a toft and croft in Marton in Cleveland, which he bought from William, son of Aylmer, in the town of Marton, paying yearly to the donor and his heirs one penny at Easter.*

In Dugdale I p. 427, there is a confirmation of a gift of land by Engeram de Bovington to Handale Priory .

12th Great Grandparents – Sir William BOYNTON (known to be alive 1249 – 1310) aged 60, 21st March, 3 Edw. II (1309-10). m. Alice de MONCEAUX (Muncels) daughter of Ingelram de MONCEAUX (Muncels) who married for her second husband William de Percy . This lady in her widowhood gave two oxgangs of land in Boynton to Nunappleton Priory.

There is a Release by Alice de Monccll, widow of William de Bovington to Sir Richard de Percy of all lands she had in dower in the vill of Herghum (now Arram) on Hull, and in return Percy paid Ingelram, her eldest son, 40 marks of silver to free him from the debts (ad quieiandum se de Judaismo) he owed Aaron and Manasser and other Jews. (Dodsworth. MSS. Ixxiv. lid.)

‘ In 1262 he appears as a juror, and 22nd October, 1279, he appears with others who say that Peter de Brus held of the King in chief sixteen Knights fees, whereof Roger de Merley held two in Burton Annes and elsewhere, William de Bovington one fee and half a carucate of land in Acclum.

In 1277 he made a grant of lands in Scaling whereby he obliged his tenants there to grind all their corn at his mill.’ According to Kirkby’s Inquest, p. 56, William de Bouyngton and John de Munceus held five carucates of land in Bouyngton. The same authority (p. 127) says that William de Bovington held three parts of a fee in Acklam, Linthorpe, Thometon near Stainton, Marton, Tollesby and Roxby, where ten carucates make a fee et redd, hallivo domini regis pro fine iijs {noteijs).

In the time of Henry VI a claim was made of the lands forming the gift of Ingelram de Monceaux to Alice his daughter. It is stated that Ingelram de Muncels by deed, gave with Alice, his daughter, in marriage to a certain William de Bojoiton who did marry her, and to the heirs of their bodies, two messuages, three cottages and sixteen bovates of land in Boynton, in the County of York, by the name of three carucates of land in Boynton, the whole being in demesne except two bovates which Henry, son of Peter held, which two bovates are part of the said three carucates together with a capital messuage in the said town. By virtue of which gift the said William and Alice were peacably seised in the time of Edward I and from them the right of the premises successively descended.’

Children of Sir William and Alice

i Ingelram

ii. Walter, died without issue.

13th Great Grandparents – Ingraham BOYNTON (known to be alive 1222 – 1254) m1. Joan de ACCLUM, daughter of Roger de ACCLUM and widow of Peter de Amunderville Ingelram; m2. a daughter of William St. Quintin, of Harpham

Ingelram and his wife Joan, are mentioned in a Lincolnshire fine. It appears that three weeks from Easter Day, 6 Henry III (23rd April, 1222) there was a fine between Geoffrey, son of Baldwin, plaintiff, by Ralph de Warevill, put in his place, and Ingelram de Boynton and Joan his wife, deforciants, of two carucates of land in Orreby, to wit, of all lands and tenements which the said Ingelram and Joan held in dower of the said Joan, in Lindsey, of the inheritance of Peter de Amunderville, whose wife the said Joan was. And concerning which Geoffrey complained that IngeJram and Joan deforced him of the said tenement against an agreement made between them. Ingelram and Joan acknowledge the said agreement, and let the said land to farm to the said Geoffrey and Peter de Bath for twelve years.

In Michaelmas term 1254, the King commands the Sheriff of York for Ingeram de Bounton (inter alios) to answer to the King with his body together with the executors of Ada de Baylloll for debts to the said Ada in part payment.’

Sir Ingelram de Boynton was seated at Acklara and amersed fifty marks in 1245-6, and in 1248 granted a lease of lands to the miller of Scaling. [Amerce means to punish with an arbitrary penalty, or to punish by a fine imposed arbitrarily by the discretion of the court.]xxx

Ingelram and Joan his wife witness a deed of William, son of Roger de Acclum concerning land at Cleatham, and later confirm the same land to Durham Monastery. His seal which is attached to this deed, at Durham, bears a fess between three crescents differenced by a label of three points and the legend-|-SIGILL INGERAM DE B0V[INT]VNE.

Children of Ingelram and Joan

i. William

ii. Michael

iii. Joan

iv. Margaret

14th Great Grandparents – William de BOYNTON, son of Walter Boynton (I) known to be living in  1206, and is mentioned in Yorkshire fines of that year. He married and had two sons and two daughters:

i. Ingelram.

ii. Henry, who married a daughter of Adam Wastneys

iii. Jane, married to Sir Robert Octon. Kt.

iv. Ursula, married to Sir Roger Welwick, Kt.

15th Great Grandfather – Walter de BOYNTON, (Bovington) (known to be living 1182-1206)  Between 1182 and 1197, bought of Riches de Arnallia, two bovates of land in Arnallia (now Arnold), which he gave to Meaux Abbey, Walter’s brother William confirmed the gift. Walter was party to a fine about land in Burnby in 1201. In 1206 he was a justice itinerant, and held property in Yorkshire, and was one of the indententes named by the King to Robert de Stuteville, Sheriff of Yorkshire. He gave a bovate of land in Bempton to Bridlington Priory, and with William, his son, exchanged seven bovates of land and two tofts in Willardby with the Prior and Convent of Bridlington for six bovates in Bovington.

Walter married and had two sons and possibly a third, namely : —

i. William

ii. Rabod or Rabot, to whom his father, with the assent of William, his son and heir, granted land in Rotsea. Rabot gave a toft and fishery in Rotsea to Guisbrough Priory, and released the Canons from an annual payment of fourpence halfpenny which they used to pay to him,’ he also gave a bovate of land in Tibthorpe to Guisbrough Priory.

iii Geoffrey.

Children

1. William Boynton

William’s wife Elizabeth Jackson was born in 1618 in Rowley, Essex, Mass. Her parents were William Jackson and [__?__].  Elizabeth died 1687 in Salisbury, Essex, Mass.

William, Elizabeth and William’s brother John immigrated  to Massachusetts  in 1638 on the ship John of London with the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers of Rowley, England, near Hull. and his followers, about 20 families from Yorkshire.   John and William’s cousin Sir Matthew Boynton (Wiki) (26 Jan 1591 – 12 Mar 1647),  helped finance the Rowley expedition. John and Sir Mathew were cousins, but not close ones. Their common ancestor was John’s 6th Great Grandfather – Sir Thomas Boynton whose will was proved at York on Sept 6 1408. He had two sons, Henry (eldest and heir from whom descends present Baronet) and our ancestor Sir Christopher.

William Boynton was from Yorkshire, England and was a planter, weaver, tailor, and teacher.    The earliest mention of a school in Rowley, Mass is 3 Feb 1656/57, when William was engaged by the town as a teacher for the term of seven years. This church then agreed to loan him £5, for enlarging his house for the accommodation of his school. He usually received £2 10s. yearly for sweeping the meeting-house, and for ringing the bell. He probably taught here for about twenty-four years, when he was followed, in 1682, by Mr. Simon Wainwright; after whom the Rev. Samuel Phillips was employed as a teacher.

Children of William and Elizabeth:

i. John Boynton  b. 19 Dec 1640 Rowley, Mass; d.  26 Mar 1665

ii. Elizabeth Boynton  b. 11 Dec 1642 Rowley; m. 9 Nov 1644 to John Simmons

iii. Zachariah Boynton b. 11 Oct 1644 Rowley; d. 4  Aug 1660

iv. Joshua Boynton  b. 10 Mar 1646 Rowley; d. 12 Nov 1736 Newbury, Mass);  m1. 9 Apr 1678 Newbury, Mass to Hannah Burnap (Barnet?) ( –    12 Jan 1722 ); m2. 29 Nov 1725 to Mary Daniels (Styles?), ( – 28 Jul 1727); m3.  30 Oct  1727 to Mary, widow of his cousin John Boynton

Joshua was a farmer and soldier in Narragansett wars 1675.

v. Mary Boynton b. 23 Jul 1648 Rowley;  m. 5 Nov 1670 Salisbury,  Mass. to John Eastman.

vi. Caleb  Boynton b. 7 Apr 1650 Rowley; d. 1696 Ipswich, Mass.; m. 24 Jun 1672 Newbury, Mass. to Mary Moore

vii. Sarah Boynton b. 1 Dec 1652 Rowley; d. 8 Aug 1654 Rowley

William Boynton gave a farm to each of his children in his lifetime. William Boynton joined the expedition (with his brother John) under the auspices of Sir Matthew Boynton in 1638 to settle in New England. While Matthew Boynton remained in England and joined the fortunes of Oliver Cromwell, the remainder of the party left Hull in the autumn of 1638 on the ship “John of London” and landed at Boston later the same year.

Many of the families were wealthy and they purchased a tract of land between Newbury and Ipswich. They took possession of the land in April 1639 and named it Rowley (Massachusetts) in honor of their minister Mr. Ezekiel Rogers who had been a preacher at St. Peter’s church in Rowley (Yorkshire, England) for many years.

5. John BOYNTON (See his page)

Sources:

http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=18315237&st=1

http://www.boyntons.us/yorkshire/stories/
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http://www.quine.org/boynton.html

Review of Sources of Boynton Family History – An introduction to those sources with appropriate warnings about how to read them and what to take seriously and what not to take seriousl

An account of the Boynton family and the family seat of Burton Agnes” –   by the Rev. Carus Vale Collier M.A., F.S.A. Rector of Langton, Yorkshire (Formerly Curate of Burton Agnes) 1914 — Carus Collier had two advantages over earlier Boynton genealogists: 1) the publication of medieval documents by county historical societies and the English government; 2) records privately held by the Boynton family. By 1900 the Yorkshire Archaeological Society had published 44 volumes of medieval records from Yorkshire in its Record series, and the Surtees Society had published 119 volumes of medieval records from northern England in its record series. The English government had published summaries of medieval government documents — patent rolls, close rolls, fine rolls, pipe rolls, inquisitions post mortem, ancient deeds, feudal aids and others — in great numbers. Collier had access to a wealth of published materials that had not been available earlier. In addition, the Boynton family had a substantial collection of deeds, wills, and other documents at Burton Agnes. The collection of more than 1,600 documents was deposited with the library of the University of Hull later in the 20th century. Many of those records are now available from the library on the internet. Collier also had a long standing interest in medieval history [obituary], which prepared him for documents in latin and the esoterica of medieval relationships. The result is the best documented account of the Boynton family available. The focus is almost wholly genealogy; the documentary evidence is used to substantiate the description of who begat whom. It leaves how Boyntons went about their lives to others. It is a little known book. It is infrequently cited, and we could find it in only two libraries — one in the U.S. and the other in York. The chapters about Boynton genealogy are available here. [Collier on Boyntons] With the benefit of records published later in the 20th century one can conclude that Collier was incorrect at some points, but considerably fewer than those who preceeded him.