 1590 - 1634 (43 år)
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| Navn |
SOMERSCALES, Henry |
| Født |
18 Jan 1590 |
Gainsborough  |
| Kjønn |
Mann |
| Død |
1634 |
Lincoln |
| Person ID |
I17836 |
Geelmuyden_etc |
| Sist endret |
18 Jul 2006 |
-
| Notater |
- Henry was born in 1590 the second surviving son of Robert the steward of Pontefract Manor Court. In 1605 he was admitted to Gray's Inn but seems to have returned to Gainsborough when his father died in 1609 and lapsed into a brief period of bad behaviour. His father had previously dealt with a family called Rowlston in the courts, this family was well known for its lack of respect for the law. However, Henry was involved with them in a case of intimidation (and worse) against Thomas Wray the vicar of Campsall, his deposition reads
"and further Sylvester Rowlston, Simon Beckwith, John Sale and William Rowlston, did, in your Majesty's name, being lord of the manor of Campsall, on the eighth and twentieth day of March, being Easter Monday in 1609, being a holiday commanded by the church, unlawfully procure a Court Leet, with tourn [formal acknowledgement of tenancy], view of franke pledge, and Court Baron, to be kept at your highness manor of Campsall in time of divine service by one Henry Somerscales, a youth of 16 years of age or thereabout (he was actually 18 or 19), who sat as steward there without any deputation from the chief steward or other lawful warrant so to do before whom, by the unlawful procurement, combination, conspiracy, fraudulent dealing and backing of Sylvester Rowlston, Symon Beckwith, John Sale of Smeaton and William Rowlston, a Jury was empanelled, being the most of them very simple men, and such as were apt to be driven by Sylvester Rowlston and his confederates to any purpose which they should desire: as namely, John Sale, Robert Mapplebeck, John Mapplebeck, William Mapplebeck, Thomas Belton, John Fox, Thomas Nutt, Robert Horncastle, Robert Hascrofte, Edmund Awkland, Edward Hogley, John Fox of Mosse and Edward Holmes,
"To which jury, empanelled and returned by Sylvester Rowlston, grave or bailiff of the said manor, before Henry Summerscales sitting as steward, Henry Summerscales, by the unlawful practise and persuasion of Sylvester Rowlston and his confederates, did unlawfully minister to them of the jury an oath upon the holly Evangelists to inquire and present such things as by him they should have given them in charge,
"And did give a charge to the said jury as in such a Court as is usual according to his understanding and after the charge was given, Summerscales instructed the jury to depart for a time and deliver up their verdict upon Whitsun Eve then next following. Then Sylvester Rowlston, invited the Jury and divers others, his confederates, to dinner, and having dined in a private parlour, after dinner the said Sylvester Rowlston did put into practise that which he and his said confederates had formerly devised and complotted against me, which was to present me for a great affray and bloodshed supposed to be made by me upon Symon Beckwith in Campsall church,
"For which purpose Sylvester Rowlston had drawn an instrument or writing purporting such a presentment, and vehemently insinuating to the jury that the presentment must needs then be found by them, urging further that if it should not be found, it was a sufficient cause of seizure of their Copyhold lands, promising and undertaking to the jury that if they would find and present the same, he, the said Sylvester Rowlston, would save them harmless by his bond giving in £40,
"And Simon Beckwith, Jo.Sale of Smeaton and William Rowlston were also there ready with great vows and solemn protestations, saying that an affray and bloodshed was made by me upon him, Simon Beckwith in Campsall church, and that in a very outrageous manner according to the tenor of the writing or presentment, which Sylvester Rowlston tendered and delivered to the jury, written with his own hand, the tenor whereof followed in these words, viz,
"Item they say upon their corporal oath that the aforesaid Thomas Wray of Campsall clerk made a great affray and drew blood upon Simon Beckwith of Pontefract within the parish church of Campsall. Therefore he is in the mercy of our Lord the King just as appears above his name
"As by Copy of the Record of the court, ready to be shown, under the hand of William Richardson under-steward of your highness's honour of Pontefract, whereunto reference be had, does and may at large appear,
"Upon which insinuations, persuasions, subordinations, confederacy, conspiracy and unlawful procurement of them, Sylvester Rowlston, Simon Beckwith, John Sale of Smeaton and William Rowlston, John Sale, foreman of the jury, and the rest of his co jurors aforenamed, without other good and lawful evidence given by the conspirators, did find the said presentment against me as aforesaid, and thereupon amerced me 6s 8d, as by the said record it also appears,
"By which verdict and presentment so by unlawful procurement, subordination and corruption made and presented as aforesaid they, the said John Sale, Robert Mapplebeck, John Mapplebeck, William Mapplebecke, Thomas Belton, John Fox, Thomas Nutte, Robert Horncastle, Robert Hascrofte, Edmund Awkland, Edward Hogley, John Fox of the Mosse and Edward Holmes, have committed most wilful and corrupt perjury and are thereby and therein most wilfully, wittingly, falsely & corruptly perjured and forsworn,
"I indeed did never make any great affray and bloodshed upon the said Simon Beckwith in the parish Church of Campsall, as in and by the said presentment and verdict of the said Jury is most untruly and corruptly presented and found, neither did I ever make upon the said Simon Beckwith any affray or bloodshed at all,
"But contrariwise, the said Simon Beckwith did make an affray and bloodshed upon me in the church of Campsall, in such riotous and outrageous sort as before is mentioned, to the great hazard and danger of taking away my life.
"And further so it is, most gracious sovereign, that after the said presentment so made, the said Sylvester Rowlston gave especial charge to the Jury that none of them should discover or make the same known unto me, but the same should be concealed and kept close from me until a convenient time would serve to cause the same to light more heavily upon me, and to that purpose the same was concealed until about the 13th day of January last past which was in 1609" The full case is included in the "appendix page".
In 1643 Thomas Wray applied for vicarage of Hessle near Hull (Mr Styles having gone over to the rebels). Thomas had suffered "much damage to his personal estate"having been imprisoned at Cawood by the rebels" He got the job but died 30 Sept 1643 [Royalist Clergy in Yorkshire 1642 - 1645 W Brown YASRS vol 61 for 1920 (Miscellanea vol 1)]
Henry was probably involved in this unfortunate affair due to grief at the death of his father. He returned to London and became involved in business.
It was around this time that people had learned how to cultivate tobacco in the Netherlands and cousin Henry probably met this Henry and his brother Robert after one of his trips to Amsterdam and told them what he had learned there. "Cousin" Henry had been brought up in the farming environment of Settle and would have been able to grasp the essentials of its cultivation. This Henry and his brother used their new found knowledge in different ways. Robert's dealings with the Virginia Company are entered under his name, Henry chose to grow tobacco in England.
It is likely that the first trial crop of tobacco was grown in Gloucestershire in 1618. It was that year that Henry was in some form of partnership with John Stratford, a Londoner whose family were in Gloucestershire and who had bought lands in Winchcombe. In January 1618 Henry and John Stratford met some land owners in Winchcombe and widened the partnership. The first full crop of English tobacco was harvested in 1619. Henry and John Stratford could have become extremely wealthy for the population was becoming addicted to the stuff which was also gaining a reputation as a medicinal cure all. But, tobacco growing was banned in 1619 and Henry had to find an alternative living. Ever resourceful the poacher turned game-keeper and petitioned the Privy Council in 1625 suggesting that he might tour the country and impound illegal crops. By this time he had a wife and family. His offer was accepted and he was granted a warrant to "search and seize all tobacco found growing in Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and elsewhere". At this time (1625 - 1626) he was described as a gentleman and lived at Coates Hall in the parish of Habblesthorpe on the Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire borders. This was his brother in law, Michael Bland's house. In 1626 both Michael and Henry were named as persistant tobacco growers. Between 1623 and 1630 Henry had tried to repay a debt with tobacco.
Henry's enthusiasm for tobacco seems to have rubbed off on his aunt's family also. Thomas Foster of Giggleswick (Thomas the son of Roger Foster baptised 12th September 1591aged about 32 at the time of this case) was in partnership with Richard Middleton of Langwith, Cumberland. The pair chartered a ship called the Warwick to collect a cargo of tobacco from Bermuda and deliver it to England. The ship foundered but Thomas, who was in Bermuda, bribed Mr William Wye the captain of the Garland to leave his passengers and take his tobacco to London, they arrived back in England in March 1620.
Henry and his partners legacy to Winchcombe was to have been profound. The crop was still being grown in 1654 when the army was too scared to destroy the crop "the people of Winchcombe and thereabout make resistance and have 300 horse and foot armed with guns and other weapons". However, within a decade Winchcombe was inhabited by "2000 beggars of all sorts whose former subsistance was chiefly in planting tobacco which is now prohibited by the state whereby they are all utterly disabled to subsist or pay anything at all".
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