CHAPTER TWO.

THE EARLES OF WILTSHIRE.

The information from Collinson traces the history of the family in Somerset from about the middle of the twelfth century to the middle of the fifteenth century, along the direct line of succession, stating, moreover, that the Earle family held estates there from soon after the Conquest, in 1066. This is a period of four hundred years.

But we must not imagine that the Earle stock confined itself to Somersetshire. We must bear in mind that the names given in the genealogy above are those of the eldest sons who succeeded to the estates, and we may well believe that there were many younger sons during these four centuries who married and founded families in other counties, and thus spread the name all over England.

In examining parish registers and other records, we find Earle sons and families in every part of England and even Scotland and Ireland, and there can be little doubt that they all sprang from the family whose history we have been tracing.

Neither must we suppose that by the termination of one line in the St. Maurs of Beckington, the Earle name disappeared from Somerset.

Indeed, three centuries later, we find Earles still residing and holding large estates in the county of Somerset. Somerset was the home of the family for seven centuries, at least, and undoubtedly the prolific hive whence they spread in every direction.

We now trace the course of the Somerset stream, especially as it overflowed into the adjoining County of Wiltshire and, to some extent, into Gloucestershire. It is to be regretted that we cannot give much more than dry genealogy, but the details that make it living history are lacking.

We have seen that the marriage of Margaret de Sondes (LI) and John Erle (or Earle) united two streams from Sir John de Erleigh, “The White Knight,” and continued the Earle stock and the Earle name in Somerset.

The second son of Margaret de Sondes (LI) and John Erle (or Earle) is Robert Earle.

Wikitree Profile: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Earle-220

The Wiltshire Branch

M 2) ROBERT EARLE, d. 1517, of Compton, Somerset, who inherited part of his mother’s patrimony and acquired lands in Crudwell, Wiltshire. This is the origin of the Wiltshire Branch. His wife’s name is not given. He left seven sons who constitute the 14th generation from the original John de Erleigh.

(N) THE FOURTEENTH GENERATION.

• N 1) ROBERT EARLE, JR., of Compton Sands. “Being cheated in a purchase broke his heart, and died without issue.”
• N 2) RICHARD EARLE. Posterity living about Bradford, Wilts, in 1688.
• N 3) JOHN EARLE, of West Crudwell. Died without issue.
• N 4) THOMAS EARLE died without issue.
• N 5) WILLIAM EARLE left one son, William, of Escott.
• N C) GYLES EARLE, of Escott in Crudwell. “By Drax ms. grandfather of Sir Thos. of Bradenbrook. By dates, this would be impossible.” Perhaps an ancestor of Sir Thomas.
• N 7) NICHOLAS EARLE, of Escott, had a son, Thomas, from whom another Thomas of Crudwell, who married Elizabeth. “He, upon a disgust, left his estates to his wife’s relations” by his will proved 1638. Died without issue.

The only member of the fourteenth generation whose line we shall follow is William (N 5).

(O) THE FIFTEENTH GENERATION.

• O 1) WILLIAM EARLE, of Escott. Will dated 1586. Married Isobel. Her will is dated 1596. She owned lands in Bradenbrook. They had six sons and four daughters.

(P) THE SIXTEENTH GENERATION.

• P 1) THOMAS EARLE, of Escott, Crudwell. Will dated 1617.MarriedBridgett.Herwilldated1626. Two children.
• P 2) ROBERT EARLE. Married? Six children.
• P 3) JOHN EARLE. Married? Six children.
• P 4) WILLIAM EARLE. Married? Six children.
• P 5) GYLES EARLE. Married? Had land in Newton. Five children, one possibly Gyles.
• P 6) NICHOLAS EARLE, of Escott in Crudwell. Died in1594-5. Will proved Oct. 4, 1595. Married Margaret, daughter of W. Dicke. She died before 1596 and after 1594. They had four children.
• P 7) JONE EARLE, married W. Pearce.
• P 8) AGNES EARLE, married W. Doulman. P 9) ALICE EARLE, married T. Browne.
• P 10) ANNA EARLE married Greene.

A point of difficulty arises here. There was a Gyles Earle of Escott in Crudwell, who left three sons, one of whom was the father of Sir Thomas of Bradenbrook. Whether he is to be identified with (P5) or was a son of the latter, or just what his relationship to William (O1), is left in doubt on the chart from which our information is derived. One thing is certain, he belongs in this connection, and it is sufficient for our purposes to designate him as

• P 11) GYLES EARLE, of Escott in Crudwell.

Q—SEVENTEENTH GENERATION.

CHILDREN OF THOMAS EARLE, OF ESCOTT (P1) AND BRIDGETT:

• Q 1) THOMAS EARLE, JR., will is dated 1637; married Elizabeth.
• Q 2) MARGARET EARLE, married Partridge; eleven children.

CHILDREN OF ROBERT EARLE (P2):

• Q 3) ROBERT EARLE, JR.
• Q 4) WILLIAM EARLE.
• O 5) MARGARET EARLE.
• Q 6) ELIZABETH EARLE. Q 7) MARY EARLE.
• Q 8) ISOBEL EARLE.

CHILDREN OF JOHN EARLE (P 3):

• Q 9) JOHN EARLE, JR., of Holt; will is dated 1656; had land in Bradford, Wilts: married Elizabeth; six children.
• Q 10) THOMAS EARLE, of Kemble, 1571-1644; married Mary of Okessey; her will,1657; eight children.
• Q 11) WILLIAM EARLE married Elizabeth; her will dated 1650; possibly a son, William.
• Q 12) MARGARET EARLE, married Beale: seven children.
• Q 13) SUSANNAH EARLE, married Shott; one child.
• Q 14) JOANE EARLE, married Mills.

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM EARLE (P 4):

• Q 15) WILLIAM EARLE, JR.
• Q 16) THOMAS EARLE, will is dated 1624.
• Q 17) ALICE EARLE, three children.
• Q 18) ISOBEL EARLE.
• Q 19) MARGARET EARLE.
• Q 20) ISOBEL EARLE (2nd of the name).

CHILDREN OF NICHOLAS EARLE (P 6), OF ESCOTT IN CRUDWELL, AND MARGARET:

• Q 21) WILLIAM EARLE, a minor in 1594.
• Q 22) JOHN EARLE, a minor in 1594.
• Q 23) ISOBEL EARLE, a minor in 1594.
• O 24) GYLES EARLE, a minor in 1594.

CHILDREN OF GYLES EARLE (P 11), OF ESCOTT IN CRUDWELL. it is not quite certain whether he is of the seventeenth or eighteenth generation.

• Q 25) GYLES EARLE, born 1591; died 1676 without issue; a lawyer who made a great fortune and repurchased Bradenbrook in Wiltshire, which he left to Sir Thomas, his nephew.
• Q 26) THOMAS EARLE died without issue.
• Q 27) WILLIAM EARLE, of Escott in Crudwell.

(R) THE EIGHTEENTH GENERATION.

CHILDREN OF JOHN EARLE, JR., (Q9) AND ELIZABETH:

• R 1) ROBERT EARLE, of Holt; administration 1660; three children, John, Paul, and Katherine.
• R 2) LUKE EARLE, of Bradford, died 1671; married Ann; left John, Mercie (m. Kater), Elizabeth, and Mary.
• R 3) REV. RICHARD EARLE, of Hemington, born 1603, will is dated 1678.
• R 4) JOHN EARLE, married Joane? Five children.
• R 5) ANN EARLE, married T. Bailey.
• R 6) ELIZABETH EARLE, born about 1626; under 19 in 1644.

CHILDREN OF THOMAS EARLE (Q 10), OF KEMBLE, AND MARY, OF OKESSEY:

• R 7) JOHN EARLE, married Susannah; will 1644.
• R 8) REV. THOMAS EARLE, born 1612; died 1664; married Ann, born 1610; died 1693. Had Thomas, 1643- 1715; m. Elizabeth, d. 1706.
• R 9) WILLIAM EARLE married Mary. Had William, Mary, Elizabeth, and Thomas.
• R 10) MARY EARLE, married D. Stevens.
• R 11) ELIZABETH EARLE, married W. Hibbert.
• R 12) JOYCE EARLE married Grayle.
• R 13) MARGARET EARLE married Marshall.
• R 14) SUSANNA EARLE, married Rev. T. Bisse.
• R 15) – EARLE, married Blandford.

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM EARLE (Q 27), OF ESCOTT IN CRUDWELL:

• R 16) SIR THOMAS EARLE, of Bradenbrook, born 1629; died 1696; married Eleanor Jackson, 1635-1709. Twelve
  children.
• R 17) KATHERINE EARLE married Ralph Harmer.
• R 18) MARGARET EARLE, married W. Rogers; had Margaret.
• R 19) ELIZABETH EARLE, married T. Walkley.

(S) THE NINETEENTH GENERATION.

CHILDREN OF JOHN EARLE (R 4) AND JOANE:?

• S 1) WILLIAM EARLE, of Holt, died before 1709.
• S 2) MARIE EARLE, married.? Had Frances.
• S 3) JOHN EARLE, born 1637; died 1704; of Lisbon. Married Sarah.
• S 4) RICHARD EARLE, born 1640; died 1713; married Ann, daughter of John Stephens.
• S 5) FRANCES EARLE, married King.

CHILDREN OF SIR THOMAS EARLE (R 16), OF BRADENBROOK, AND ELEANOR JACKSON:

• S 6) GYLES EARLE, died without issue, 1677, at Vittoria. Spain.
• S 7) JOSEPH EARLE, died 1729-30; member of Parliament for Bristol; married Phillippa Gore (m. 1701; d. 1704); married Elizabeth Cann. Two children.
• S 8) THOMAS EARLE.
• S 9) WILLIAM EARLE, of West Harptree, born 1663: married 1697, Henrietta, daughter, and co-heiress of Smart Goodenough; she was born March 6, 1676, and died Jan. 31, 1703. William was a sergeant-at-law. Five children.
• S 10) ROBERT EARLE, born 1668, died 1736; mayor of Bristol; married Elizabeth, who died 1763; she m. 2nd Haynes.
• S 11) GYLES EARLE, born 1678, died 1758; m. Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Rawlinson (d. 1713); m. 2nd Margaret.
• S 12) CATHERINE EARLE married Sir Thomas Cann.
• S 13) SARAH EARLE, married R. Wilmot.
• S 14) MARY EARLE, married John Day.
• S 15) ANNE EARLE, married Dr. S. Creswicke.
• S 16) ELIZABETH EARLE, married Dr. R. Morton.
• S 17) RACHEL EARLE, married I. Mosden.

(T) THE TWENTIETH GENERATION.

CHILDREN OF RICHARD EARLE (S 4), b. 1640, d. 1713, AND ANN STEPHENS:

• T 1) A son, name unknown.
• T 2) JOHN EARLE, born 1680, d. 1741; married Elizabeth, b. 1689, died 1744; three children.
• T 3) ANNE EARLE, b. 1676, d. 1724.
• T 4) FRANCES EARLE, b. 1682, d. 1753.

CHILDREN OF JOSEPH EARLE (S 7), d. 1729-30, AND ELIZABETH CANN:

• T 5) TPIOMAS EARLE, d. 1704; may have been the child of Philippa Gore.
• T 6) ELEANOR EARLE, d. 1721; married William Benson (1681-1754). Six children.

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM EARLE (S 9), OF WEST HARP- TREE, AND HENRIETTA, daughter of Smart Goodenough :

• T 7) GOODENOUGH EARLE, b. 1700, d. 1790, of Pitminster; a daughter, “Sally.”
• T 8) WILLIAM HALL EARLE, b. July 6, 1700; d. July 28, 1721. Middle Temple.
• T 9) ROBERT EARLE, b. Jan. 22, d. Feb. 7, 1703.
• T 10) WILLIAM EARLE, a lawyer.
• T 11) THOMAS EARLE, of Crudwell, d.aged 78.

CHILDREN OF GYLES EARLE (S 11) AND ELIZABETH RAWLINSON:

• T 12) WILLIAM RAWLINSON EARLE, 1700-1774, buried at Hendon; married Susannah (1715-1797), daughter and sole heiress of William White. We are not sure whether it should be Hendon or Hindon. There is a Hindon in Wilts.
• T 13) ELEANOR EARLE, unmarried; will was proved Nov. 16, 1761; buried at Hendon.

(U) THE TWENTY-FIRST GENERATION.

CHILDREN OF JOHN EARLE (T 2), 1680-1741, AND ELIZA¬ BETH, 1689-1741:

• U 1) JOHN EARLE.
• U 2) WILLIAM EARLE, of Lisbon; will 1748; married Frances; six children. U 2a) ANNE EARLE.

A detached pedigree of Rev. Thomas Earle belongs in this connection, whose exact relationship has not been determined. We will designate him as T 14.

CHILDREN OF REV. THOMAS EARLE (T 14), born 1681; vicar of Malmesbury:

• U 3) THOMAS EARLE, JR., of Malmesbury; widower; died childless 1743; administration of the estate in 1743.
• U 4) REV. ROOKE EARLE.
• U 5) REV. WALTER EARLE died in 1726.

CHILDREN OF ELEANOR EARLE (T 6) AND WILLIAM BENSON:

• U 6) BENJAMIN BROWN BENSON, d. 1727. U 7) EARLE BENSON.
• U 8) WILLIAM EARLE BENSON.
• U 9) HARRY BENSON, b. 1713, d. 1774; married Ann (b. 1730, d. 1791); one son, William Benson, of Salisbury, 1740-1796, with whom the line becomes extinct. U 9a) MARTHA BENSON. U 9b) ELIZABETH BENSON.

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM RAWLINSON EARLE (T 12), 1700- 1774, AND SUSANNAH WHITE:

• U 10) GYLES EARLE, of Beningborough, b. at Hendon 1733, d. 1811; married Margaret, daughter, and heiress of Ralph Bouchier, M. D., of Beningborough, County York.
• U 11) ELEANOR EARLE, b. about 1745 at Hendon; alive in 1781.
• U 12) ELIZABETH EARLE died young. U 13) SUSANNAH, died young.

(V) THE TWENTY-SECOND GENERATION.

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM EARLE (U 2), OF LISBON, AND FRANCES:

• V 1) JOHN EARLE.
• V 2) FRANCES EARLE, married Henry Revell; had issue, Anne, of Lisbon.
• V 3) BROMLEY (a daughter) ? married Bromley.
• V 4) CHARLOTTE (?) married Illnis.
• V 5) WILHELM INA MARGARETTA, married Metzener.

CHILDREN OF GYLES EARLE (U ), OF BENINGBOROUGH, YORK, AND MARGARET BOUCHIER:

• V 6) WILLIAM EARLE, born 1763; Major 2d W. York.
• V 7) THOMAS EARLE, died 1800, at Quebec; Captain 6th Foot; administration to Thomas Clarke, attorney, to Giles Earle, his father. Giles Clarke, of Hendon, son of Thomas Clarke, attorney to Giles Earle, took the surname of Earle in respect for his godfather, Giles Earle, on Aug. 10, 1865. He must have been born before 1811.

This last generation, owing to its being born from a younger branch, lived one generation later.

The above pedigrees comprise our knowledge of the Wiltshire branch, and while it is little more than a skeleton without flesh and blood, we believe it will have an interest for some of our readers as a branch of the original line of de Erleighs, blossoming out finally into Earles. These pedigrees were copied from the elaborate charts of Sir Henry Earle, Bart. of Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, and are verified by numerous wills. They have never been published and, in all probability, never will be, and we have thought it well to give our readers the opportunity to know something about this large connection of English Earles. It will have an especial interest for one of our American branches, the Virginia Earles, as the founder of that branch, John Earle, is thought to have come from Wiltshire.