Cbe Genealog~ of tbe ff amtcr of IDe J.Eskelbr or lEctelb~, of tbe 1Hortb ll?tbing 0t tbc 11) Clll'\? IDouglae J£ ebelb\?, jf. s. a. 1891: ~ rtvatel)2 ~ rtnte~. J\?etta Blan & Joan llontents. GENEALOGICAL NOTES 1-35 PEDIGREE OF Ex1:LBY, OF EXELBY AND DrSHFORTH :35-37 APPENDIX- Extracts from Knaresborough :\Ianor Court Rolls­ 41-58 Will of Elizabeth Exilby-A.D. 1445 58 John Exylby, 1471 ;j';j .'.farmaduke Exilby, 1472 (i() \\"illiam Exylby. 1503 Gl Thomas Exelby, 1582 fij-66 Notes from Augmentation Office Decrees, 1544 67 Extracts from Knaresboro' Parish Registers - 68-6() Pedigree of Exelby of Knaresboro' 70 Notes on Family of Yeadon - 71 Yeadon Extracts from Knaresboro' Registers­ 72 y eaclon Pedigree 7J Additional Notes from Plea Rolls, &c. 74-77 List of Exelby \\"ills, &c. 78-7fJ INDEX ~reface. 1_lHE first part of these notes was originally contributed to the "Yorkshire Archaiological Journal," the pages of which were tousidered to be scarcely suitable for the publication in e,vtenso of the exceedingly interesting but voluminous extracts from the Knaresboro' Mauor Court Roll:3, ,rhich are now printed as an Appendix, together with the full text of tlw Wills referred to in the body of the paper, aml some other cognate information. As far as practicable, the following pages have been confined to the elucidation of the descent of the maiu line of the family of Exelby prior to the year 1600; I Jiaye however a t.:onsiderable eollection Learing on the genealogy uf the later Lrand1es, of whid1 I hope at some future time to print, at auy rate, a portion. All tiiis information has been slovdy accmnulated little by little. ::;ome of the notes seut to me from Yarious quarters, although in ti!clllseh~, apparently of 110 ntlue, led to tlrn discovery of most rnluable facts. This of course i:; to prac:tical genealogists a truism; but it is oue which inexperience is apt to overlook. To all tlw,;e friend,; and conespondents who during a long period lia \ e so ki11dly rcme1Hbercd and assisted me, I desire to return my lJe~t tliauks. I feel sure that I may rely on similar help in the fmme; and any notes relating to the names dealt with in these pages will be highly valued by me. I have thought it desirable to prillt a list of all the Wills before the year 1800 which have come to my knowledge. H.D.E. BmKEFHEAIJ, .fnn11aru. 1/'ifll. [Rrpri,it,,,l from the "J'a,•kshire Archceolo,1iml Jmmwl."J NOTES ON THE GENEALOGY OF THE FA.\IILY OF DE ESKELUY, Olt EXJ,:LDY, OF EXELUY AND DISHFO!lTH rn THE CUUXTY OF YOnK. By HEXRY D. ESHELilY. \YITH tbe exception of an interesting note by the late Mr. J. ll. \Valbran in "J\Ieinorials of Fountains Abbey" (Surtees Soc., Yol. 4:2), no attempt lrn,s hitherto been made to elucidate the genealogy of thi~ family, nor, HO far as we know, is its pedigree to be found in print. The family is of considerable antiquity in the county of York, its surname being dori..-ecl from the village and township now known as Exelby,1 in the parish of Bnrneston, Wapeutake of Hallikeld, N.R., ,vhere the family undoubtedly held lands from the time of its settlement there, about A.D. 1070 until as late as A.D. 1600. Although ranked among the gentry, and summoned b_y the Heralds in their progresses to enter their pedigree, its members, in common with a very large proportion of their fellows, neglected to do so, and therefore no pedigree of the family is given in any of the Visitations. 'rliis is much to be regretted from a genealogical point of view, as it is certain that at those dates the ancient "evidences" remained in the possession of the family; but it will be seen in the following pages that an attempt to trace the main liues of descent has met with fair success ; and although the present venture embraces only a small portion of what might be accomplished, it is hoped that these notes may be of interest to geuealogists, and form a nucleus for future enquiry. There can be no doubt that the family was of Breton origin, aml that its progenitor in England was vVh!Jomar or Uuienwr, called in Domesday Book" homo comitis Alani," who accompanied his feudal lor1l Alan, count of Brittany and earl of Richmond, at the time of the Conquest ; he was 1 .'Eschelebi in Ilomesclay Book~ the quently in that record and long ante, io,· /,,, of Aschil, a per,mnal name t',111wl frn- to it. 2 NOTES O~ THE GENEALOGY OF THE FAMILY one of his chief under lords, and held the honourable position of Dapifer or Seneschal, wl1ich oflke was held by his de­ scendants for several generations.2 He shared largely in the distribution of the lands of the conquered, and at the time of Domesday Survey was the holder of the manors of Aske, Leyburn, and Harnhy (parish of Spennithorne), in Richmondshire.3 Whitaker, writing of the former, says, " it was indeed one of those gems of which even these mighty lords had not many to bestow." This manor re­ mained in the possession of one branch of Whyomar's descendants, the Askes of Aske, until about the year 1500. He also appears in Domesday Book as holding lands in Cambridgeshire of the Earl.4 "As Guihomar, dapifer, he " occurs witnessing the charter of Oshern de Arcis to S. l\Iary's " Abbey, at York (Drake's Ebor., 602). Very soon after the "date of the [Domesday] survey, he must have obtained a "considerable addition to the estates he then held, partly out "of the Earl's demesnes; for we find him giving most liberally "to S. Mary's Abbey 5 out of his subsequent acquisitions, 2 Vicic Aske pedigree in Gale's Reg. tl,e man of Eddeva, held this land, and Hon. de Richmond ; Whitaker's Rich- was able to leave it without license. In wondshire; Harrison's Yorkshire, ,\:c. Furbarn, \\'ibomarc bolds of the earl 3 "Yorksbire.-in Aske, to be taxed, 3½ hides. There is laud tor 4 ploughs. 6 carucates, and there may be 4 In demesne, 1 hide and 1 plough, ano. ploughs. Tor had there one manor; sokernen have 3 ploughs; meadow 1 Wihomarc, a vassal of the earl's bas now plough, pasture at the money of the vill. in the demesne there 1 plough ancl 5 Is worth 4l.; when he received it, 31.; villanes and 3 borda~s with ~ ploughs. in the time of King t_dward, ,Us. This The whole is 1 mile long and a h,df land was held by three sokemen, of whom broad; in King Edward's time, 2Us., two, the men of Eddeva. the third, the the same now. In Leyburne, to be man of Earl Algar, could go a11ay without taxed, 7 ½ carncates, and there may be their licence. lneward and arnr will be fi ploughs. Aschil and Audulf had two found for the Sheriff. ln Carlentone, manors there ; \\' ihu111arc now bas them, W ihomarc bolds of the earl 1 1·iri;ate of and they are "aste. 'J be ,vhole is 1 mile lanrl ; a certain sukeman held, and fuunrl long and 1 broad; value, in King Ed- aver. The s11rne \\'ihomaru hulcls of the w,crd's time, 21Js. In Hernehy, to be ea,rl H hicle. There is land for 3 taxed, 9 carucates, and there may be ti plt1np;l1;, In demesne there are 2, and 3 ploughs. Tor bad a manor there, \\'il,o- v1lla11s, with 3 bordars, have 1 )Jlough. mare has now in the demesne, 1 plough Tliere are 3 serfs, 1uea<low fur ~ oxen, and 1~ vill.mes, and 8 bonlars with 5 wood for 11.1 hogs. lt is worth, and "as ploughs. The whole is 1 mile lcrng and a wurtb, 31. '!.'his land child Godwin held half hroad; va'ue, in King Edw,wd's under EddeYa, and could not retire from time, 3\ s., the ,ame now." it." (From Domesday Book.) 4 "Camlridgeshire. - Lands of Earl 5 This charter (circa llOO) is printed Alan. In Es,elli11ge, \Yiho111arc huhls of in Mon. Ang, YO!. iii., pp. 549-600 (ed. the earl H bide. There is land for 3 18Hi). having been copied by Dodsworth ploughs. In demesne, there are~ ploughs, from a leaf oi the Hegister of t>. :Mary's and 4 villans have l plongh. There are Abhey, which is now preserved in the 8 serfs, and l ruill. tis. 4,1.; a fishery, Bocllcian Library \Charters in Baell. Lib., 121,u eels; pasture at the moupy of the by Turner and Coxe); it is also found vill. It is worth, and was worth, [ills.; trnuscrihed in Doclsworth :llSS., vol. vii., in the time of King Edward, 60s. Alsi, page 9. It is witnessed by Wai'i,w ,lilio 267 OF ESKELJ1Y, OR EXgLBY, OF EXELBY, ETC. 3 " namely, no less than four carncates each in Edlingthorpe "and l\Iyton,6 one carucate in Forcet, the church and half a "carucate iu Thornton,7 his tithes in TVicl'a, 8 and also the " chapel of S. Mal'tin at Hidnnowl witlt a carucate of laud "there (Old 1Io11., i. 388). The monks afterwards established '' a cell or priory in connection with S. .Martin's Chapel, "apparently in the time and with the concurrence of earl '· Stepheu,9 who, with most of his teuants, gave two (some " three) garbs out of the tithes of their demesnes.