I've been rereading history of the Lovell plot, an early rebellion in the reign of Henry VII that involved the Stafford brothers, Humphrey and Thomas. The Stafford brothers, having been ferreted out of sanctuary, were found guilty of treason. Humphrey was hanged, Thomas was pardoned.
What happened to Thomas afterward? I can't find a single thing
Sir Francis Bacon relates briefly, in his History of the Reign of King Henry VII, that following his pardon "Thomas the younger brother was the founder of the family of Stafford of Tottenho in Buckinghamshire." The manor of Tottenho is also spelled Tottenhoe, Tottynho and Tattenhoe.
ReplyDeleteLetters and Papers contains a rundown of the manor's history, noting that "In 1477 [the Griffins, previous holders of the manor] quitclaimed the manor to John Brentwood and Thomas Stafford. The former released his right to Stafford in 1478 and in the same year Roger Standish, son and heir of Alice [Giffard Standish, the previous holder] also gave up all his title in the manor. In 1516 Thomas Stafford enfeoffed trustees of the manor to the use of his illegitimate son, William Stafford, and died in the following year, when his legal heir was stated to be Humphrey Stafford, afterwards Sir Humphrey Stafford of Blatherwycke (Northants), the son and heir of his eldest brother, Humphrey Stafford.
"Thomas Stafford had left £10 to Sir John Bentley, the parson of Mursley, to educate his son 'in the seyence of gramer,' and to send him in three years' time to Oxford or Cambridge, but Alice, widow of William Ingoldsby and mother of William Stafford, accused Bentley and Humphrey Stafford of abducting the boy."
Numerous lawsuits, second marriages, letters to Cromwell, complicated property transfers and other family intrigue later, William's son Thomas (the original Thomas Stafford's grandson) wound up in possession of the manor, justifying Bacon's statement.