The Canterbury and Long Point Carltons Genealogy

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CHAPTER 3

WILLIAM (I) CARLTON (OF LITTLE HARDS)

AS EARLY AS 1535 - 1628

PHOTOGRAPH of William's mark from his will of 1618

William was born between 1535 and 1565, most likely between 1545 and 1558. He is our Elizabethan ancestor. He lived in Lower Hardres, which was also known as Little or Nether Hardres. Although there is no record of his baptism, we are quite sure he is the son Wyllam mentioned in the 1571 will of John Charlton of Lower Hardres. The fact that there are no other known William Carltons alive at this time in east Kent, coupled with his lifelong residence in Lower Hardres makes this assumption valid. William is the first of the numerous descendants who carried the name William in subsequent generations, in fact, all 3 of his sons felt the bonds of family strongly enough to give the name to one of his grandsons before he died.

William considered himself a yeoman. He probably married about 1577 although no record of the event has been found. In fact, William's wife is the only Carlton wife whose name is unknown. William probably inherited his father's lands in Lower Hardres because neither Thomas the older or Thomas the younger are present in the parish but 2 Thomas Carltons appear in Canterbury about this time. Nether (Lower) Hardres manor was passed from the Diggs to the Hales family in the 1580s and the Northcourt manor was passed from the Spylman family to the Hales in the 1560s. Consequently, although Youngs Farm was held by the Rigden family, the Hales were most likely the gentry from whom William held his land throughout his life.

During the 1560s and the 1570s English Catholics gradually became more and more radical, thus prompting the formation of opposite views through the establishment of the Puritan protestant sect. Queen Elizabeth wisely refrained from acting against either side but the seeds were planted during this time for the civil wars that would erupt 50 years later. These rising emotions throughout the 1570s and 1580s resulted in much public discussion of church reforms. The Carltons followed the wishes of their Queen and remained staunchly with the Anglican Church of England.

Men still wore hose breeches, which by the 1570s had become very short and puffed ut. By the 1590s they reached to the knee and during the early 1600s became very wide and exaggerated due to the stiff materials used. For the first time jewelry became common as brass and pewter rings became popular.

The common people had improved their diet considerably over the practices of the middle ages. William and his family probably had available white meats, milk, butter and cheese (which were formerly hard to obtain) as well as fish and both wild and tame fowl. Husbandmen were accustomed to eat their dinner at high noon and supper at seven or eight in the evening, much as they still do today. Forks were not yet in use in England, and food was still eaten from wooden or bread trenchers with spoons and fingers. Meat was usually taken from serving board to mouth with a knife. During this time treen (metal) platters rapidly replaced the trenchers of wood. At haymaking time in 1636 (which would also apply to these earlier years) workers took with them into the field "a bottle or two of good beer, with an apple pasty, potted butter, churn milk, bread and cheese."

During William's lifetime England became a great power under the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In 1587 she ordered the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots due to her assassination plots. The next year, 1588, Sir Francis Drake began the establishment of England's great sea power as he led the English fleet in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. The years following this victory were characterized by a joyful spirit among the population in celebration of the greatness of their Queen and nation. Those living in this era had grown up under the reign of Queen Elizabeth and they took the security and relative economic stability of her times as a fundamental quality of English life. This was the period (1593-1610) when Shakespeare and Canterbury native Marlowe were writing their plays and poetry, along with others who were making English literature great. However, England was not entirely at peace during this era, being at war with Spain (which included fighting Irish Catholics as well) from 1588 until 1604.

William probably spent the last years of his life in ill health. On November 16, 1618 he made his last will and testament and at that time said he was "weake in body, and of good and perfect memory thanks bee to Almighty god for the same," however he lived 10 more years. He did not die until December 18, 1628 and was buried December 20th at Lower Hardres. William lived to be at least 63 years old, an old age for his time. Without question the fact that he worked on his land and ate a workingman's diet did much to prolong his life. It is likely that his wife had died sometime between 1590 and 1618 as she is not mentioned in his will. Unfortunately there are no unaccounted female Carlton burials yet found that could be William's wife so she remains unknown to us.

William's will left mostly money to his sons and sons-in-law. The total bequeathed was £80, 40 shillings, which was a healthy sum for those times. However, his son Richard, who lived near Blean, died 2 years later and his estate was well over £200.

William and his wife had at least seven, probably eight, children, of whom only one is known to have died as a child: