The 1580 will of Thomas Fermor of Somerton gifts his “well-beloved nephew” Nicholas Fermor. Which one?
Per the 1580 will of Thomas Fermor of Somerton,
In default of such issue [of Mary or Richard, the children of Thomas], the remainder goes to my brother Jerome Farmor, according to the gift of my Uncle William Farmer of Somerton. If Richard dies without lawful issue, I give the Manor of Gannow and all [my other property] in Gannow, to my nephew Nicholas Farmer and the lawful heirs of his body…
I give a £10 pa life annuity to my well-beloved nephew Nicholas Farmor… But if and when he has acquired enough lands, tenements, annuities or fees, whether by descent, purchase, gift, grant, marriage or otherwise, to provide a clear income of £100 pa during his own or his wife’s life, the £10 annuity is to cease.[1]
Thomas also appoints his nephew George Fermor and his brother-in-laws Sir Richard Knightley, Richard Fiennes, and Sir Thomas Lucy as executors and overseers of his will. He mentions no other brother or sister.
In determining the identity of Nicholas Fermor, there are two options: the son of Sir John Fermor, or the son of Jerome Fermor.
Nicholas, son of Sir John Fermor.
Sir John Fermor married Maud Vaux, daughter of Sir Nicholas Vaux. They had the following sons: George; Nicholas; Richard; and Arthur.[2] According to Baker’s History and Antiquities of the County of Northampton (1844), Nicholas was still living in 1585 and died unmarried.
Baker’s inclusion of John’s fourth son Arthur also seems to refute the number of sons mentioned in the memorial of Sir John and Maud. It is most likely Arthur died very young and the memorial notes the number of surviving sons.
Here lie ye bodies of Sr John Farmor, of Eston Neston Knight of ye Bath and dame Maud his wife daughter of Nicholas Vaux Lord Harroden, they had 3 sonnes and three daughters and died, hee ye 20th of December MDLXXI & shee ye xivth of April MDLXIX.
Nicholas, son of Jerome Fermor.
Collins in his Peerage of England (1812) provides a synopsis of Thomas Fermor’s will and states that it “appears Nicholas Fermour, his nephew, was son of Jerome, his brother.”[3] Baker’s Northampton pedigree also indicates that Jerome and his wife Jane had issue, although none are mentioned.
If Jerome and Jane had a son Nicholas, he is not mentioned in Jerome’s 1602 will, nor Jane’s 1606 will. This may indicate that Nicholas died prior to 1602. Additionally, no mention of Nicholas is provided in the memorial to Jerome and Jane.
The memoriall of Heiro Farmore Esq. & Jane his wife they lived to-geath’r in Wedlock 42 Years, & he attended to ye honor of a great grand unckle & after 74 years left this home for a better Septb’r 7th Ao, 1602.[4]
So who is who?
One could argue that by only mentioning his brother Jerome, Thomas did intend to gift Jerome’s son Nicholas. Also, considering the verbose nature of the will, one could argue that Nicholas was married in 1580, and that Thomas did not mean should Nicholas marry. This points even further to Jerome’s son given the data above. Even the inclusion of “but if and when he has acquired enough lands, tenements, annuities or fees, whether by descent, purchase, gift, grant, marriage or otherwise” is interpreted as the time Nicholas has acquired land, not when he has married.
With Gervase Clifton, Esquire, son and heir apparent of Sir John Clifton of Bassington, Somerset, Nicholas Farmor of Hardwick assumed the £400 recusancy debt of Sir Thomas Tresham, Knight of Rushton, Northamptonshire, by a recognizance before the Exchequer barons dated 15 May 1592.[5]
A “Nicholas Farmor of Easton [Neston], co. Northampton, esquire” is mentioned in a 1594 indenture, along with Sir Richard Knightley, Sir Richard Fiennes, Valentine Knightley, Jerome Fermor, Richard Fermor “of Easton [Neston],” Sir Henry Darcy and “Dame Katheryn [Fermor] his wife,” Gabriel Pulteney, John Cope, and Thomas Thorneton.[6]
A “Nicholas Fermor, Gentleman” admitted to the Middle Temple on 02 July 1571 was most likely the son of Sir John.[7] If Jerome and Jane had married in 1560 per the calculations from their memorial, their son Nicholas would have been admitted at a minimum age of eleven.
Conclusion and further research
The conclusion is there were two nephews of Thomas Fermor named Nicholas. Jerome’s son Nicholas “of Hardwick” was gifted by Thomas and living in 1592. Sir John’s son Nicholas remained in Easton Neston and living in 1594.
Sir John and Maud may have named their child Nicholas after Maud’s father. Jerome and Jane’s son may have been named after Jane’s father and may provide insight into her identity whose coat of arms suggest she was from the Isacke family.
Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Thomas Fermor and the Sons of Witney” a 790-page biographical history of the Fermors from 1420 to 1685. The sequel “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” follows the family immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky.
[1] Hutchens, “Will of Thomas Farmor of Somerton,” Oxfordshire Family History Society (OFHS.uk). nd.
[2] Metcalfe, The Visitations of Northamptonshire Made in 1564 and 1618-19 (1887), pp.19-20; Baker, The History and Antiquities of the County of Northampton, vol.2 (1844), p.143.
[3] Brydges, Collins’s Peerage of England, vol.4 (1812) p.201.
[4] Baker, The History and Antiquities of the County of Northampton, vol.2 (1844), p.332.
[5] Bowler et al, Recusants in the Exchequer Pipe Rolls, 1581-1592 (1986), p.176.
[6] Lyte, A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds, vol.3 (1900), p.199.
[7] Martin, “Minutes of Parliament of the Middle Temple (1501-1603),” Middle Temple Records, vol.1 (1904), pp.180, 182.