Fay Sampson’s Family History
This site is a work-in-progress. There is a massive amount to cover. I have included both male and female lines, and some go back 30 generations. Keep coming back for more.
I have numbered the generations working backwards from my own as (1)
NICHOLAS FRAUNCEIS and ELLEN WYNYARD (17)
NICHOLAS FRAUNCEIS was the son of Henry Fraunceis and Elizabeth Bampfield. His father was first of that name to be lord of the manor of Combe Florey in NW Somerset.
He had at least one sister, Agnes.
He died in 1480, but Agnes outlived him by 38 years. This suggests that Nicholas was no more than middle aged when he died. A birth date a little before the mid-century seems probable.
ELLEN WYNYARD. Pedigrees of the Frauncis family usually tell us the name of the wife’s father and where he came from. Ellen is the exception. We know that her father was Nicholas Winard, but nothing more than that. We do not have the name of her mother, or where she came from. [1]
Nicholas Fraunceis’s’s father died in 1457. Nicholas became lord of the manor of Combe Florey. He was probably quite a young man.
We know that the couple had at least one son, John. He married Florence Ayshford, from a prominent East Devon family. Their daughter Elizabeth married Florence’s brother William, heir to the Ayshford manor.
Much of their lives were lived in the long reign of Henry VI. This saw the rise and fall of Joan of Arc, the end of the Hundred Years War and the revolt of Richard of York against the mentally deficient king. The king’s party was led by his formidable queen Margaret of Anjou. Richard was killed in battle, but his son Edward took the throne in 1461, though Henry was still alive. He died in the Tower of London in suspicious circumstances in 1471.
Nicholas died on 5 June 1480. His tomb is behind the organ in the church of St Peter and St Paul in Combe Florey. His sister Agnes Molins is buried near the font. She died on 21 June 1518. [2]
The brass commemorating Nicholas and Ellen is the oldest in the church. It was originally the most elaborate. Two figures with prayer scrolls above their heads, led to plates with images of saints. Beneath their feet were images of their children and shields at the corners. Only part of this plate now survives.[3]
We have no information about Ellen’s death.
[1] https://wc.ro otsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=ancestorsearch&id=I24998
[2] https://bishopslydeardbenefice.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/lstlrectory-014.jpg
[3] http://www.mbs-brasses.co.uk/page107.html
NEXT GENERATION: 16. AYSHFORD-FRANCES
PREVIOUS GENERATIONS: 18. FRAUNCEIS-BAMPFIELD
18. WINARD