Agnes Houlditch 1671 – 1749
by Tony Holdich - May 16, 2013
Family Background
Agnes was the 4th child of Abraham Houlditch of Totnes and his wife Elizabeth.
She was baptised at St. Mary’s Rotherhithe on 12 October 1671. Her parents had
been married by licence at St. Magnus the Martyr on 13 November 1661. Her father
was then Captain of HMS Sophia and he continued to serve in the Navy until 1666.
Elizabeth was the daughter of Nathaniel Morecock, a mathematician, and his wife
Elizabeth Heard who had been married at Stepney on 13 December 1638. On leaving
the Navy Abraham joined the Royal African Company as a sea captain. Later he
became the Company’s Agent in West Africa, and finally was appointed to the
Court of Assistants. He left the Company in 1677 when he was appointed Chief
Searcher of London Port, but after barely three months in his new post he died
at the age of forty and was buried in Stepney. Agnes was only six.
In his Will made on 1 February 1677/8 Abraham divided his estate into 32 parts
and appointed Elizabeth as his executrix, bequeathing eleven parts to her. He
left the remaining 21 parts to his surviving children: five to Abraham, four
each to Richard and Elizabeth, three each to Ann and Agnes and two to the child
or children his wife was carrying at the time. The value of the estate is not
known, but it is unlikely that Elizabeth was left in poverty. She was however
left, at the age of 34, pregnant and with five young children, and it was not
long before she found herself a husband or a suitable widower found her. The man
in question was John Chambers, a scrivener, and it is possible they met in
connection with the administration of Abraham’s estate. Alternatively they may
have met in Rotherhithe or Stepney where he owned property and she and Abraham
had lived.
Early Years
Elizabeth married John Chambers in December 1679, and Agnes entered a new world
at the age of eight. Her stepfather lived in Lombard Street and did business
with bankers and goldsmiths. At the time he made his Will in 1703 he owned
property in London, Middlesex, Essex, Herts and Surrey, and he employed several
servants. He had lost his previous wife, Mary, in 1673 and none of their
children had survived, but he and Elizabeth soon had a growing family to set
alongside her existing five children. Mary was born in 1681 and was followed by
Elizabeth, John and Jane. By the time Jane was born Agnes was fifteen. Unhappily
Elizabeth and Jane both died in infancy and Agnes began to learn about the
sorrows of motherhood.
As her child bearing age passed, Elizabeth’s mind must have turned increasingly
to the future of the children from her marriage with Abraham – to marriage for
the girls and careers for the boys – and in this she was able to look for advice
not only to her husband but also to the overseers of Abraham’s Will, i.e. to
Captains Richard Goodlad and Thomas Stanton. With six younger children in the
family Ann and Agnes were no doubt well educated in childcare. In December 1688
Ann married Jonathan Mayllam at St. James, Duke’s Place, and was given away by
Captain Goodlad. Elizabeth presumably decided against the sea for the boys, who
in due course were apprenticed to trades in the City. But a seafaring husband
was found for Agnes.
Marriage
It seems unlikely that either her stepfather or, at the age of 18, Agnes herself
would have chosen John Strong as her husband. He was a widower age 35 or so,
with a stepdaughter Elizabeth about the same age as Agnes. But he had achieved
fame and some fortune and no doubt seemed acceptable, even attractive. In
addition it is possible that he was a relation. A John Strong had married
Barbara Houlditch in Totnes in 1640 and Agnes’s John may have been a son of
Barbara. It would have been natural to look for a match within the family. From
John’s point of view, the matter was probably urgent. His stepdaughter, who had
no doubt been keeping house for him since his wife died, was about to be married
to Captain John Thomas.
John Strong’s claim to fame arose from being chief mate on the James and Mary
under Captain William Phipps and from finding the wreck of ‘La Capitana Jesus
Maria’ a Spanish treasure ship off the coast of Hispaniola. A warrant for the
treasure hunt had been issued by James 11, and the sponsors of the enterprise
included the Duke of Albemarle and Viscount Falkland. The wreck yielded a hoard
of gold and silver worth over £200,000 of which John’s share was about £1,000.
He gave an account of the expedition in a deposition in a Chancery case in 1687.
A silver medal was struck to commemorate the success and issued to the crew.
John’s medal was handed down by Agnes to her descendants and was in the
possession of her great grandson Thomas Harwood when he made his Will in 1833.
John succeeded William Phipps as captain of the James and Mary when Phipps was
appointed to a post in New England from which he went on to become Governor of
Massachusetts.
John and Agnes were married in July 1689 and this was a very busy month in their
lives. He had to appear with her mother at the Faculty Office to obtain a
licence for the marriage; and he had to attend the marriage of his stepdaughter
Elizabeth in St. James, Duke’s Place. Moreover he had been chosen by Viscount
Falkland and others to command the Welfare on a trading and privateering voyage
to the west coast of South America where some 30 years earlier another Spanish
treasure ship had sunk. For this purpose he also had to appear before the High
Court of Admiralty to obtain his Royal Commission for the voyage which, as we
were at war with France, licensed him to capture French ships. In addition, a
suitable crew had to be recruited. And of course the ship had to be properly
stocked not merely with provisions but also with goods to trade and with guns
and ammunition. Agnes would have had mixed feelings about all this. Pride at the
preferment of her husband and hope for future wealth would have jostled with
anxiety about the actual outcome.
THE TREASURE HUNT
Although there was great haste to get the Welfare ready to sail it was not until
12 October that she got away from the Downs, where ships customarily assembled
before major voyages. Agnes probably said good bye to her husband there.
Presumably they had a few days together, perhaps on board, before his ship
sailed, but John was a prudent man who was embarking on a long and hazardous
voyage, which called for careful preparation, and the circumstances were not
consistent with a carefree honeymoon. Poor Agnes, a young bride of a few weeks,
had to bid her husband farewell fearing she might never see him again.
The Welfare was a ship of some 270 tons, with 40 guns and a crew of about ninety.
John’s log can be seen today in the British Library, together with a journal
kept by Richard Simson, who travelled with him. From these accounts we know that
on 27 January they reached a group of islands in the South Atlantic then known
as Hawkins Land and uninhabited except for animals and birds. Simson records
that the penguins, mustered in infinite numbers, seemed to salute them with
graceful bows expressing their curiosity and good breeding. John gave the name
Falkland Sound to the channel between the two main islands, and the group
subsequently became known as the Falkland Islands.
The Welfare entered the Strait of Magellan on 10 February and for three months
and twelve days battled against violent storms and adverse tides before finally
emerging into the Pacific Ocean. John noted in his log that he would advise no
one to try the passage at that time of year. The slow progress through the
Strait enabled him to study the local Indians whom he described as poor and
naked, painted all over with red ochre, having nothing but a skin about their
shoulders and bearing bows and arrows. They lived principally on limpets,
mussels and fowls. A little trade was done with them, but in John’s view they
were treacherous and not to be trusted.
On leaving the Strait the Welfare was still some 4000 miles south of the point,
about latitude 25, where it was believed the treasure ship had been wrecked, and
the story of the journey can hardly be described in this article. It must
suffice to say that the voyage was marred by sickness and death.. At one stage
fifty men were down and not capable of service. Rats, of which they had a
prodigious number on board, damaged the cargo and were no doubt a source of
disease. The sea and the coastal area provided food, but they were often short
of fresh water. The Spanish coastal settlers tended to be suspicious and
unfriendly, if not hostile, and reluctant to trade.
The Welfare reached the area of the wreck in August, but alas John and his crew
were frustrated. The wreck, unlike that found off Hispaniola, was apparently
buried in deep sand and despite their diving equipment and extensive searching
they found nothing. Reluctantly they turned south and began the long journey
home. Recently, with the aid of modern technology, a Norwegian diver has
apparently found the wreck, with treasure estimated to be worth over £2 billion.
John and his crew would have been well pleased with a fraction of that.
The journey south was marked by a tragic incident in November at a settlement
whose inhabitants at first seemed friendly and ready to trade. A small party
therefore landed and initially they were entertained with food and drink.
Suddenly however some fifty Spanish horsemen appeared and attacked them. Only
one of the party escaped to their boat and though wounded was got away by the
two men who had remained with it. Their eleven comrades were either killed or
captured.
John assembled the crew to decide whether to take revenge, but the consensus of
opinion was that trade was impossible, the prospect of a French prize was
negligible, they were not strong enough to achieve anything by force of arms and
they needed to get through the Magellan Strait before the weather turned against
them. The Welfare therefore continued her southerly course. She entered the
Strait on the 5th, and emerged on the 12th, December -in marked contrast with
her passage west, especially as she spent four days at anchor taking on wood and
water.
John then made for Barbados, which he reached on 17 February. On the orders of
the Governor he spent some time in the vicinity searching for a French privateer,
but without success. Finally he weighed from Bridgetown on 4 April 1691 with a
load of sugar. In the final weeks of the voyage the Welfare captured two French
ships, but these prizes were poor consolation compared with a share in a
substantial treasure. However most of the crew returned home alive, unlike
twenty two of their ship mates; and Agnes was mightily relieved to see her
husband after a journey approaching 40,000 miles on an expedition taking nearly
two years. In some respects it was an unusual trip, but it does throw light on
conditions at sea endured by our 17th century mariner ancestors.
WIDOWHOOD
John no doubt made a Will before he left for South America, but he made his last
Will and Testament on 22 August 1693, the day he set out on what was to be his
final voyage. He bequeathed £50 to his step daughter Mrs Elizabeth Thomas and
smaller sums for mourning to a number of Agnes’s relations, i.e. her mother and
stepfather, her sister Anne, her brothers Abraham and Richard and her
half-sister Mary. He left the residue of his estate to Agnes and made her his
executrix.
On this final voyage John was bound for the West Indies as captain of the James
in company with other ships. The fleet, with the permission of William II,
sailed under the King of Spain’s commission and it appears that a further
treasure hunt was in prospect. The preparations for the expedition included
hiring crew who signed bonds to serve at least eighteen months, and Agnes was
present when the bonds were executed. The fleet sailed from the Downs, where
Agnes said goodbye to John before returning to London, and reached the Groyne,
Corunna, on 27 September, where unhappily John died on 11 November. News of his
death reached Agnes quickly and she proved his Will in the P.C.C. on 2 December.
Thus after four years of marriage she was a widow at the age of 22.
The size of John’s estate is not known, although Agnes certified it to be not
less than £1000. However she was not to enjoy it all. Problems soon arose over
its administration. Captain John Thomas, who commanded another ship in John’s
fleet, alleged that on 8 November John made a codicil to his Will which
increased the legacy to Elizabeth Thomas (his wife) to £500. Captain Thomas gave
this document, which was in Spanish, to the Consul at Corunna, who transmitted
it to England.
A long legal wrangle followed. Agnes took the view that the codicil had been
forged by Captain Thomas who, in order to make it, had moved into John’s cabin
when he was dying. She pointed out that John had not mentioned it to his friend
Captain John Humphries with whom he had discussed his Will shortly before he
died; and that neither had Captain Thomas -in letters he had written to her on
11 and 22 November. Moreover the codicil was not in her husband’s handwriting,
nor in that of his purser whom he usually employed to write his letters; he
neither spoke nor understood Spanish; and on 8 November was too ill to make
himself understood. Thus she was not prepared to prove the codicil.
The resolution of this dispute was complicated by the absence of witnesses who
remained at Corunna, whence came reports of mutiny in the ships there. The fleet
owners alleged that Captain Thomas and other captains would not obey orders and
they feared the ships would sail away as pirates. These reports cast doubts on
the integrity of John Strong’s circle at the time of his final illness.
The case dragged on until 1695 and Agnes made several depositions questioning
the validity of the codicil. These are preserved in the records of the
Prerogative Court of Canterbury and bear her firm clear signature. Another
deponent alleged that she, supported by her mother, had declared that she would
spend £500 or more to ensure that Elizabeth Thomas never received the £500 in
question. It is not clear whether this deposition reflected the view of the two
women that the codicil was not valid, or revealed a deeper hostility towards
Elizabeth Thomas.
Unfortunately the outcome of the dispute is not clear. On 18 December 1694 the
PCC decided that the codicil was valid, but apparently Agnes did not accept this
decision and did not immediately prove the codicil. The case was then taken on
appeal to the High Court of Delegates and finally by Elizabeth Thomas to the
Court of the Arches which considered it on 15, 21 and 22 June 1695. However no
decision is recorded in the Court’s Act Book. Elizabeth Thomas may have dropped
the case or it may have been settled out of court.
Agnes was professionally represented in these proceedings, but otherwise seems
to have been very much on her own. Her brothers had not long started their
apprenticeships and were probably too young to help her much in litigation; and
Thomas Stanton and Richard Goodlad had died in 1691 and 1693 respectively. Her
mother however was no doubt an invaluable source of advice, and she may have
been able to look to her stepfather for help. In any event the process, which
revealed her as a very determined young woman, was no doubt very costly and
would have made a large dent in John’s estate. It would also have made a lasting
impression on Agnes.
RE-MARRIAGE
It is not known where Agnes lived as a widow. Abraham did not marry until 1696,
and Richard was still an apprentice, so her brothers were not likely to have
provided a home. She may have shared a house with her sister Ann, who had been
widowed in 1692, or gone back to her stepfather’s house. In any event she would
have wanted a home of her own, which presumably meant finding another husband –
preferably perhaps not a mariner.
Her father had served in the Navy with Captain Thomas Harwood, who had later
fought on the St. Andrew against the Dutch at the Battle of Sole Bay in 1672.
Thomas had married Mary, the daughter of Admiral Richard Swanley, in 1661 – the
year Agnes’s own parents had married; and it seems likely that her mother would
have known both the Harwoods and the Swanleys. Thomas’s own son Thomas, who had
been born in Stepney in 1664, had been educated at University College, Oxford,
and in 1690 had been appointed Rector of St. Mary Magdalen, Littleton, in
Middlesex. It is noteworthy that the manor was conveyed to a Thomas Goodlad in
1648, but it is not clear whether a Goodlad was patron of the church in 1690.
Thomas must have seemed very suitable: a well-educated young man with the sea in
his blood but with a safe job ashore.
LIFE AT LITTLETON
Agnes and Thomas Harwood were married by licence on 19 September 1698 at St.
Mary Aldermanbury. She was 27. Two days earlier Thomas had made a marriage
settlement, which may imply that Agnes, despite the costs incurred over John
Strong’s estate, brought significant funds to the marriage. Their son Thomas was
born a year later. Littleton was a small parish running down to the Thames and
must have seemed very quiet to Agnes. However she had a house to run and an
increasing number of children to rear. Richard was born in 1702, Dorothy in
1703, Elizabeth in 1705, Abraham in 1707 and John in 1711. There would have been
social occasions, including marriages. Her brother Richard and Jane Williams
came to Littleton to marry in 1701, and five of her servants were married in the
period 1706-10. And of course there were funerals. Her mother was buried in
Stepney in 1702 and her mother-in-law in 1703. Sadly she lost her daughter
Elizabeth at the age of 7 months and her sons John and Richard in 1728 and 1730
respectively. Her stepfather was buried in his own parish in 1706; and her
brother, Abraham’s wife and her father-in-law, Captain Thomas Harwood, were
buried in Stepney in 1712. Some of these events would have taken her and Thomas
out of Littleton.
It is hard to believe that Thomas’s parish duties stretched him, and although
the Thames yielded plenty of salmon and trout at that time there is no
suggestion he spent time fishing. He and his neighbour, Robert Wood, who was a
doctor of law, no doubt exchanged views on cultural and political matters, and
the bequest in his Will for the benefit of the education of the children of the
parish indicates a concern for their welfare, which may have manifested itself
in a practical way which involved Agnes. She would certainly have been involved
in the planning of the new rectory, which Thomas provided for them in Littleton.
In addition however Thomas was no doubt immersed in his study of books with all
his papers and pamphlets which he bequeathed to his son Thomas, and was pursuing
his theological studies: in 1714 he was awarded the degree of doctor in divinity.
As her own children grew up Agnes would have become more interested in her
grandchildren. Her son Thomas had married in 1727 and before his wife died in
1738 she had borne him six children. In 1731 he was instituted as Rector of the
adjoining parish, Shepperton, of which her brother Richard was patron, and it
was only a short walk for Granny to visit her grandchildren or vice versa. The
Shepperton patronage was later acquired by her husband.
LATER YEARS
Agnes’s husband did not die until 10 November 1744, but he made his Will in 1731
nominating Agnes his executrix and life tenant of much of his estate. He made
various bequests to his son Abraham and daughter Dorothy and named his son
Thomas as his residuary legatee. It is noteworthy that Thomas chose Agnes not
his son Thomas to administer his estate. She proved his Will in the PCC on 12
January 1745.
Agnes did not make her own Will until 25 October 1748, probably shortly after
her daughter Dorothy died. In it she bequeathed £5 p.a. to her son Abraham, who
was a Captain in the service of the East India Company, and the residue of her
estate to her son Thomas whom she appointed executor and who proved the Will in
the PCC on 14 November 1749.
Agnes died at the age of 78 on 12 October 1749. She is buried with her husband
in the chancel of the parish church. Unfortunately the inscription tells us
nothing of her character or the life she had lived. The character of an ancestor
is usually elusive. Research may throw some light on it, but inevitably any
assessment depends on interpretation of records. There can however be little
doubt that by the time of her death Agnes had had a great deal of experience.
She was the daughter of a naval officer and her first husband was also an
experienced mariner. Her brothers were City merchants. Her second husband was a
clergyman who had a strong mariner background. She had experienced contact with
people in many other occupations, including lawyers, while living in town and
country. She had survived both husbands, whose Wills she had administered, and
also survived all but two of her children. She had lived under seven monarchs in
stirring times, which had included the Glorious Revolution, the 1701 Act of
Settlement, the War of the Spanish Succession and the Jacobite Risings of 1715
and 1745. But what was she like? Perhaps her character is best reflected in her
signature reproduced below – consistent, clear, firm, straightforward and
confident. She is so far my most interesting 6 x great grandmother.
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