Generation X
Henry Isham
1528–1595
Life
Henry Isham was born in 1528 in Ringstead, Northamptonshire, the son of Euseby Isham and Anne Poulton.1,2 Coming of age within a prominent family that included his brothers Robert, John, Gregory, and Giles, Henry moved to the capital to pursue a mercantile career, gaining his freedom of the Mercers' Company in 1555.3? On 30 January 1557, he married Joan Bresley at the church of St Mary le Bow in London; she was the daughter of Edward Brisley, serjeant of the poultry to King Henry VIII, and Kateryne Crymes.4? In 1561, Henry was living on the east side of Ironmonger Lane in the parish of St Martin Pomary, inhabiting a Mercers' Company tenement comprising a messuage with shops, warehouses, cellars, and solars.? His brother John had married Elizabeth Barker, the widow of former lessee Leonard Barker, which likely enabled the brothers to secure control of the premises.? That same year, the Mercers granted Henry a new thirty-year lease at the customary rent of £3 per annum, with Henry assuming responsibility for repairs other than to the principal timbers.? He eventually relocated, assigning the tenancy to William Longe by 1566–67 and later to the mercer John Bourman from 1570–71.? Henry and Joan made their long-term home in the adjoining parish of St Olave, Old Jewry, where they raised a large family.5,6,7 Their children included Nathaniell, Susan, Isabel, Gregory, Edward, Petter, Apollonya, Marye, Thomas, Zaccheus, and Mathew.8,9,10 Joan died in early 1588 and was buried at St Olave on 15 January 1587/8.?
For most of his career, Henry traded in partnership with his brother John Isham, also a citizen and mercer, and the two appear together frequently on the plea rolls of the Westminster courts and the Exchequer memoranda rolls.11,12,13 They dealt in cloth, grain, and other commodities and lent money on bonds—most of them sealed in the parish of St Mary le Bow in Cheap ward.3,12,14 The brothers actively pursued their debtors in the Court of Common Pleas, suing clothiers of Sudbury, Suffolk, and of London in 1568, and recovering thirty pounds from John Wate, a Northamptonshire gentleman, in 1571.15,12 In his own name, Henry sued Thomas Burnell, an innkeeper of St Clement Danes, in 1573, and another Northamptonshire gentleman named Edward for two hundred marks in 1577.16,14 Their moneylending did not always remain within legal bounds.17 In 1566, George Alkington filed an information in the Exchequer charging that John and Henry had taken usury on funds lent at Westminster in late 1565 to William, Lord Vaux of Harrowden, and Sir Thomas Tresham.17,18 That same year, the brothers entered into a £100 recognizance to the Queen alongside John Lyster, a clothier of Halifax, Yorkshire; in this record, Henry was specifically described as a resident of St Olave's parish.5 When the debt went unpaid, Lyster's Halifax lands were seized, and legal process against all three men dragged on in the Exchequer until 1573, when the Barons, acting on a privy seal writ, accepted a composition and restored their lands and goods.19,20,21
Early in his career, between 1544 and 1554, Henry was involved in litigation over a manor in Ford, Somerset, and in 1556 a Henry Isham—almost certainly he—sued Joan Williams in the Court of Queen's Bench after being ejected from a leased parsonage house in the same county.22? Henry's overseas commerce also drew official scrutiny.13,23 In 1568, William Foxam of Southwark lodged an information in the Exchequer alleging that Henry and John had shipped thirteen quarters of wheat abroad from Shoreham, Sussex, on The Bartholomew of Brighthelmstone without paying customs subsidies or securing a lawful license; a companion suit named William Trewe and John Gravesend alongside the brothers.13,23 In January 1569, another informant, William Dewesbury, alleged that Henry and fellow London merchants Thomas Kennyon and John Gafforde had loaded hogsheads and barrels of tallow at the port of London for illicit overseas export.24 Commercial disputes also prompted private litigation: in 1572, Nicholas Field sued Henry and fellow merchant Henry Hougate in Common Pleas, claiming they had unlawfully detained forty-three pieces of white woollen cloth known as "Gloucester whites," valued at £200, which had been seized at Minchinhampton in Gloucestershire.25,26
Henry was also heavily occupied with administering the estates of his deceased brothers.27,28 Gregory Isham, a London mercer who died in 1558, appointed Giles, Robert, John, and Henry as joint executors to recover debts owed to the estate.3,27,29 In 1559, they sued Sir Marmaduke Constable, George Willoughby of Amington, Warwickshire, and others.27 Demanding £100 from Willoughby on a 1553 bond, the executors met the defense that Sir Marmaduke Constable had already paid £80 of the debt at the baptismal font of St Paul's Cathedral on Midsummer Day 1557; the Ishams contested this, prompting parallel proceedings in Common Pleas and Queen's Bench.3? In another estate suit, the executors pursued William Claxton, a London gentleman, for £15.27 Claxton claimed duress, alleging Gregory had coerced him into the original bond by threatening him with death and the mutilation of his limbs.? When his brother Robert Isham, a clergyman, died in 1564, Henry again served as executor alongside John Isham and Ferdinand Poulton.28,30 In 1576, the trio sued Jane Stafford, widow and administratrix of Sir Robert Stafford, for 1,000 marks on a bond Stafford had given to Robert and Giles Isham in 1554.28
Alongside his private commercial enterprises, Henry entered royal service.31 By letters patent enrolled in 1572–73, Henry Isham of London, gentleman, was appointed controller of customs and subsidies in the port of London in place of John Chapman, an office he held for the rest of his life.31 As controller, he audited and checked the collectors' accounts; Exchequer records from 1576 to 1592 document him certifying customs returns alongside Customer Thomas Smyth, collectors Robert Rodes and Robert Dow, and surveyors Thomas Colshill and John Smythe.32,33,34 In July 1579, facing administrative or legal friction, Henry petitioned Queen Elizabeth's Lord High Treasurer, William Cecil, Lord Burghley, requesting a stay of proceedings until the Queen could review the matter personally, lamenting the hardships suffered by suitors when magistrates were overwhelmed by weighty state affairs.35 In December 1587, Henry and collector Robert Dow submitted a joint report to Burghley warning that London merchants exporting goods were routinely evading the statutory requirement to tender bonds.36
In addition to his London leasehold, Henry invested substantially in rural property.11 By indentures dated 8 July 1564, he and his brother John purchased the manor of Thorpe next Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, along with lands in Wainfleet, Halton, and neighbouring parishes, from Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, for £1,404 14s.11 In December of that year, Henry quitclaimed his interest in the manor to John.37 Around the same time, he bought land in South Mimms, Middlesex, from Thomas Mericke, and by 1577 had acquired the reputed manor of Mandeville and Dancers Hill from Jasper and Joan Annesley.? Although he held substantial lands in the half-hundred of Edmonton in Middlesex, royal certificates of residence from 1584, 1590, and 1591 confirmed that his principal liability for taxation remained within the City of London.38,39,6 Henry experienced financial difficulties in his final years, including an episode around 1593 in which the outward subsidy collector Thomas Blount attempted to assign Henry's £500 bond directly to the Crown after Isham failed to fulfill a court order to pay £200 for the release of seized goods.40 Henry died in London and was buried around 1595, leaving his Middlesex lands to his son Gregory.7? Following his death, Robert Harvey was admitted as controller of the port of London in place of Henry Isham, late controller.7
- Northamptonshire Families (1906): Euseby Isham of Ringstead (d. 1546) and Anne Pulton
- Will of Euseby Isham of Pytchley/Ringstead, 16 Aug 1546, proved Dec 1546 (PCC; Longden)
- Another suit involving Henry and the estate of his brother Gregory
- Henry Isham, "England Marriages, 1538–1973"
- John Lyster of Halifax, John Isham and Henry Isham of St Olave's parish acknowledge a £100 recognizance, E 159/352 (1566)
- Henry Isham of St Olave Old Jewry in a recognizance, E 159/386 (1584)
- Robert Harvey admitted controller of the port of London in place of Henry Isham, late controller, E 159/408 (1595)
- Henry Issame in entry for Gregorye Issame, "England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
- Henry Issame in entry for Edwarde Issame, "England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
- Harry Issame in entry for Mathewe Issame, "England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
- Earl of Warwick sells the manor of Thorpe by Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, to John and Henry Isham, mercers of London, Common Pleas CP 40/1229 (1565)
- John and Henry Isham, citizens and mercers of London, sue John Wate of Northamptonshire for £30, Common Pleas CP 40/1297 (1571)
- AALT7/Eliz/E159no356/bE159no156dorses/IMG_0690.htm
- Henry Isham, citizen and mercer of London, sues Edward [—] of Northamptonshire for 200 marks, Common Pleas CP 40/1345 (1577)
- John and Henry Isham, citizens and mercers of London, sue clothiers for debt, Common Pleas CP 40/1269 (1568)
- Henry Isham, citizen and mercer of London, sues Thomas Burnell of St Clement Danes, innkeeper, King's Bench KB 27/1246 (1573)
- Information against John and Henry Isham, mercers of London, for usury on a loan to Lord Vaux and Thomas Tresham, E 159/353 (1566), image 0403
- Information against John and Henry Isham, mercers of London, for usury on a loan to Lord Vaux and Thomas Tresham, E 159/353 (1566), image 0402
- Lyster-Isham recognizance: sheriff of Yorkshire seizes John Lyster's lands in Halifax, E 159/371 (1576), image 1018
- Lyster-Isham recognizance discharged by composition under a privy seal writ, E 159/371 (1576), image 1021
- Lyster-Isham recognizance: John Lyster, John Isham and Henry Isham plead tallies and a privy seal writ, E 159/371 (1576), image 0728
- Henry Isham v. Joan Williams over a parsonage house in Somerset, King's Bench KB 27/1177 (1556)
- Information against William Trewe, Henry Isham, John Isham and John Gravesend for shipping wheat abroad, E 159/356 (1568)
- Information against Henry Isham, Thomas Kennyon and John Gafforde, London merchants, for shipping tallow abroad, E 159/368 (1575)
- Suit involving Henry and cloth
- CP 40/1361: Henry Isham late of London, mercer
- Executors of Gregory Isham, including Henry Isham, sue Sir Marmaduke Constable and others, Common Pleas CP 40/1178 (1559)
- John Isham, Henry Isham and Ferdinand Poulton, executors of Robert Isham, clerk, sue the administratrix of Sir Robert Stafford for 1,000 marks, Common Pleas CP 40/1333 (1576)
- CP 40/1189: Henry Isham among executors of Gregory Isham
- Will of Robert Isham, parson of Pytchley, 6 Apr 1564, proved 3 Nov 1568 (P.C.C. 22 Babington)
- Henry Isham of London, gentleman, appointed controller of customs in the port of London in place of John Chapman, Fine Roll C 60/389 (1573)
- Port of London customs account witnessed by Henry Isham, controller, E 159/382 (1582)
- Certificate of Henry Isham (Esham), controller of the port of London, in a case against Edmund Gresham and William Milward, E 159/402 (1592)
- Henry Isham, controller of customs in the port of London, in an Exchequer seizure of train oil, E 159/376 (1579)
- Henry Isham to the Lord Treasurer: to stay process until the Queen has spoken with...
- Robert Dow, collector, Henry Isham, controller, and other officers of the port of London...
- Notification of a quitclaim of right. Henry Isham citizen and mercer to John Isham his
- Certificate of residence showing Henry Isham to be liable for taxation in London
- Certificate of residence showing Henry Isham to be liable for taxation in London
- Blount, collector of subsidies outward at London, wanted to assign Henry Isham's bond
? marks 12 statements for which no attached source was found.
Life sketch as written on the FamilySearch Family Tree. Footnotes link each statement to the attached source that supports it; they were matched by machine against the source summaries and should be read as a guide, not a verification.
Records
-
1546
Date: 1546 (will of Euseby); published 1906.
-
1546
Date: 16 August 1546 (will); proved December 1546.
-
1553
. Georgius Willughby nuper de Amyngton in comitatu Warr armiger alias dictus Georgius Willughby de Amyngton in comitatu
-
1556
Henry Isham complains that, after a lease of the mansion house called the parsonage at a Somerset place transcribed 'Posselt', Philip Williams entered and Joan Williams expelled Henry from possession. Joan pleads that Henry could have quietly held and occupied the house and taken the corn and crops there. Machine trans…
-
1557
This extracted record was used to create this person in Family Tree.
-
1559
Jury process involving Robert, Richard/John and Henry Isham as executors of Gregory Isham.
-
1559
Henry Isham late of London, mercer, and Henry Hongate late of London, mercer, summoned in a chattels plea.
-
1559
[Giles?] Isham, esquire, Robert Isham, clerk, John Isham and Henry Isham, executors of the testament of Gregory Isham, citizen and mercer of London, by attorney William Pyreson, against Sir Marmaduke Constable of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, knight, [—] Willoughby of Amington, Warwickshire, William Claxton (Clayton) of Lond…
-
1561
Henry Isham styled citizen and mercer of London in Common Pleas.
-
1562
-
1563
Outlawry process (exigent) ordered in London so that the defendant be brought to answer Henry Isham and Henry Lillery (reading uncertain). The defendant's name is not legible in the machine transcription. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1564
Notification of a quitclaim of right. Henry Isham citizen and mercer to John Isham his...
-
1564
Date: 6 April 1564 (will); proved 3 November 1568.
-
1565
Enrolled deed, acknowledged 12 February before a justice of the Common Pleas. Ambrose [Dudley], Earl of Warwick, Lord Lisle, knight of the Garter, recites indentures dated 8 July 6 Elizabeth (1564) between himself and John Isham and Henry Isham, citizens and mercers of London, and for £1,404 14s grants to them and thei…
-
1565
This extracted record was used to create this person in Family Tree.
-
1566
This extracted record was used to create this person in Family Tree.
-
1566
George Alkington informs the Exchequer that John Isham of London and Henry Isham of the same, mercers, contrary to the statute against usury, between Michaelmas and Christmas 7 Elizabeth (1565) at Westminster lent money to William [Vaux], Lord Vaux of Harrowden, and Thomas Tresham, taking interest beyond the principal;…
-
1566
George Alkington informs the Exchequer that John Isham of London and Henry Isham of the same, mercers, contrary to the statute against usury, between Michaelmas and Christmas 7 Elizabeth (1565) at Westminster lent money to William [Vaux], Lord Vaux of Harrowden, and Thomas Tresham, taking interest beyond the principal;…
-
1566
Memorandum that John Lyster of Halifax, Yorkshire, clothier, John Isham of the parish of St Antholin in Cordwainer Street ward, London, mercer, and Henry Isham of the parish of St Olave in [—] ward came in person on 7 February this term and acknowledged that they owed the Queen £100, payable at the feast of the Annunci…
-
1567
This extracted record was used to create this person in Family Tree.
-
1568
Here is the complete transcription of the Latin manuscript (with standard legal abbreviations expanded in brackets for clarity) followed by a full English translation.
-
1568
This extracted record was used to create this person in Family Tree.
-
1568
Information that William Trewe, Henry Isham, John Isham and John Gravesend shipped wheat beyond the sea without sufficient licence and without paying the subsidy, by agreement with the customs officers contrary to the statute; the informer asks that they forfeit double the value of the grain. Machine transcription; rea…
-
1568
Attorney entries: John Isham and Henry Isham, citizens and mercers of London, by attorney Hugh Sharnock, against Richard Goldyng of Sudbury, Suffolk, clothier, and John Frende of London, clothier; and against [—] of Essex, clothier, Robert Burbage and Richard Burbage, in pleas of debt. A further entry is a suit by John…
-
1569
This extracted record was used to create this person in Family Tree.
-
1569
Pleading in an action of debt by John Isham and Henry Isham against Richard [—] on a bond whose English condition mentions payment in London; Richard pleads that John and Henry ought not to have their action because Robert Curbaye satisfied them. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1570
After judgment for Joan [—] against John [—], the court notes that she had also recovered the debt and damages against Henry Isham late of London, gentleman, alias Henry Isham of London, gentleman, who was bound with John in the same bond; execution is awarded against John and Henry or either of them. Machine transcrip…
-
1570
John [—] of London, by attorney, against [—] late of London and Henry Isham of London, gentleman, in a plea of debt of £40; the sheriff returns that they have nothing, and they are ordered to be taken (capias). Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1571
Attorney entry: George Harrison against John Isham and Henry Isham (alias Esham), of London, in a plea of debt. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1571
John Wate late of a Northamptonshire place transcribed 'Brenesugton', gentleman, summoned to answer John Isham and Henry Isham, citizens and mercers of London, for £30, by bond made 8 July 11 Elizabeth (1569) at London in the parish of St Mary le Bow in Cheap ward. Wate appears by attorney and asks to hear the bond and…
-
1571
Common recovery of a manor and lands: the demandants John Isham, Henry [—], Thomas Brockes, Ferdinand [—], Henry [—], Thomas Haselrigg, Edward [—] and Edward [—] recover against Thomas [—], the vouchee John Howell having made default. The first Henry's surname is not given; he is listed immediately after John Isham. Ma…
-
1572
Chancery decree (in English) in a suit concerning the goods of Thomas Croker, who died intestate at his mansion house; the defendants named include Edmund Gresham, Nicholas Culverwell, John Milner, George Sanders, John [Isham] and Henry Isham, who refused to pay. The roll is Elizabethan; the year is GlyphMachina's esti…
-
1572
John Winkburgh, gentleman, summoned to answer Henry Isham of London for 20 marks, by bond made 1 February 12 Elizabeth (1570) at London in the parish of St Mary le Bow in Cheap ward. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1572
Process on the £100 recognizance of John Lyster of Halifax, clothier, John Isham of London, mercer, and Henry Isham: the sheriff returns that John and Henry Isham are not found in his bailiwick. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1572
Glouc[estria]
-
1573
Same suit: Henry Isham late of Lamport, Northamptonshire, gentleman, with Thomas Isham of Lamport.
-
1573
Letters patent: the Queen appoints Henry Isham of the city of London, gentleman, controller of the great and petty custom, of the subsidy of wool, hides and woolfells, and of the subsidy of 3s on the tun and 12d in the pound in the port of London and adjacent places, in place of John Chapman, late controller, with the …
-
1573
Attorney entry: Henry Isham, citizen and mercer of London, by attorney [—] Adamson, against Thomas Burnell of the parish of St Clement Danes outside Temple Bar, Middlesex, innkeeper, in a plea of debt. The next entry is a suit against Henry Isham, citizen and mercer of London. Machine transcription; readings should be …
-
1574
This extracted record was used to create this person in Family Tree.
-
1574
Agenda-book note of the composition with John Lyster, John Isam and Henry Isam for the penalty of a recognizance in which John, John and Henry were bound. The book covers Hilary 1574 to Michaelmas 1578; 1576 is used as an estimated date. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1575
William Dewesbury informs that Henry Isham, Thomas Kennyon and John Gafforde of London, merchants, after 24 November shipped at a quay within the port of London, in a ship whose master was John Wiles, hogsheads and barrels filled with tallow, their own goods, to be carried overseas contrary to the statutes, and asks th…
-
1576
This extracted record was used to create this person in Family Tree.
-
1576
Jane Stafford of London, widow, administratrix of the goods of Sir Robert Stafford, knight, who died intestate, summoned to answer John Isham, Henry Isham and Ferdinand Poulton, executors of the testament of Robert Isham, clerk, for 1,000 marks, by bond made 12 March 1 Mary (1554) at London in the parish of St Mary le …
-
1576
The Chief Baron, Sir [Edward] Saunders, and the Barons, by virtue of a privy seal writ, in November 10 Elizabeth reduced the £100 recognizance and agreed to take a composition from John Lyster, John Isham and Henry Isham. It is adjudged that the Queen's hands be removed from their manors, lands and goods seized for the…
-
1576
John Lyster, John Isham and Henry Isham plead payments made by tallies levied in various years, and a writ of privy seal dated at the Queen's manor of Greenwich in June 15 Elizabeth (1573), directed to the Treasurer, Chancellor and Barons of the Exchequer, concerning the recognizance. Machine transcription; readings sh…
-
1576
Further process on the recognizance against John Lyster, John Isham and Henry Isham; John and Henry say that the sum was answered and satisfied, and a receipt is recorded. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1576
Continued process on the recognizance of John Lyster of Halifax, clothier, John Isham of the parish of St Antholin in Cordwainer Street ward, London, mercer, and Henry Isham: John Isham and Henry Isham had not paid the debt, and the sheriff returns they have no goods in his bailiwick. Machine transcription; readings sh…
-
1576
Sheriff's return to a writ on the recognizance: he took into the Queen's hand lands and tenements of John Lyster in Halifax; John Isham and Henry Isham have no goods, lands or tenements in his bailiwick and were not found there. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1577
Edward [—] of Northamptonshire, gentleman, summoned to answer Henry Isham, citizen and mercer of London, for 200 marks, by bond made 15 May 10 Elizabeth (1568) at London in the parish of St Mary le Bow in Cheap ward. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1578
The entry recites an obligation acknowledging a debt of £100 to John Isham and Henry Isham, citizens of London. Henry [Carey], Lord Hunsdon, and Thomas Gresham are also named. Much of the machine transcription is unclear. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1579
George Hopton late of London, gentleman, servant of Henry [Carey], Lord Hunsdon, summoned to answer Henry Isham in a plea of debt of £10; and George Tottye late of London, gentleman, summoned to answer Henry [Isham] for £10 by a bond made 24 January 15 Elizabeth (1573) at London. Machine transcription; readings should …
-
1579
Reference: SP 46/31/fo287
-
1579
Information concerning ten tuns of train oil and other merchandise shipped in the name of Peter [—], merchant, in a vessel of St Malo, forfeited and remaining in the custody of Thomas Smyth, customer, and Henry Isham, then and now controller of all the Queen's customs and subsidies in the port of London. Machine transc…
-
1580
Process against Henry Isham late of Lamport, Northamptonshire, gentleman.
-
1582
Account of Robert Rodes, collector of the customs (tonnage and poundage) in the port of London, for a year ending Michaelmas 18 Elizabeth (1576), taken by the view and testimony of Henry Isham, controller, and Thomas Colshill, surveyor. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1583
Pleading that on 3 June 20 Elizabeth (1578), at the Custom House, a merchant who intended to land 154 hogsheads of goods in the port agreed the customs and subsidy with the knowledge and agreement of Henry Isham, gentleman, then and still controller, and Thomas Colshill, then and still surveyor of the customs in the po…
-
1584
Recognizance memorandum naming [—] of the same county, esquire, and Henry Isham of the parish of St Olave in the Old Jewry, London, acknowledging a debt to the Queen under a condition. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1585
Proceedings against George Grene, John Brodne and Richard Bridges on a bond. On inspection of the certificate of Robert Dow (transcribed 'Cowe'), collector, and Henry Isham, controller in the port of London, it appears that the goods named in the bond's condition were not carried overseas, so the Queen's attorney does …
-
1587
Process against Henry Isham of Lamport, Northamptonshire.
-
1587
Reference: SP 46/34/fo281d-282
-
1590
Reference: E 115/222/89
-
1590
Judgment that Henry Isham and Thomas Pagett recover against Thomas [Hitchcock?] their debt and £4 damages, with costs. Machine transcription; readings should be checked against the image.
-
1591
Reference: E 115/222/95
-
1592
Process against Edmund Gresham and William Milward: the Queen's attorney declines to prosecute further because the certificate of [—], customer, Henry Isham (Esham), controller, and John Smythe, surveyor of the customs and subsidies in the port of London, together with a certificate of one of the Barons of the Excheque…
-
1593
[Fanshawe to Burghley]: Blount, collector of subsidies outward at London, wanted to assign Henry Isham's bond, for £500, to the Queen towards his debt, which the Chancellor would not accept. Subsequently the Chancellor ordered Isham to pay £200 to discharge goods seized by Blount and the process would be stayed, but Is…
-
1595
Memorandum that Robert Harvey, named controller of the customs in the port of London and adjacent places in place of Henry Isham, late controller there, came and gave security for the office. A separate memorandum on the same image begins 'Memorandum that Henry Isham of the parish of St Olave in the Old Jewry...'. Mach…