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1st March 1662/63, Letter from John Jacobs to Sir GO, London

BL, Add. MS. XX,XXXX, f. 34

Editorial history

04/06/09, CSG: Completed transcription
15/12/11, CSG: Created page & posted transcription to wiki

Abstract & context

John Jacobs wrote to Sir George Oxenden on March 1st 1662/63 from London.

In his letter, John Jacobs mourned the death of his son, Francis Jacobs, but congratulated Sir George Oxenden on his safe arrival in Surat.

The letter also indicates that Mr. (John) Goodyer travelled out to Surat at the same time as Sir George Oxenden. John Goodyer (alias Goodyeare) had been in the East Indies since at least 1651, when he was confirmed in Persia as the number four with John (later Sir John) Lewis as the number two.^[1]

The letter writer was probably Sir John Jacobs (b. ca. 1597, d. 1666), London customs farmer, who, together with Dr Richard Ball, had asked the Court of the EEIC to confirm their sons' entertainment at Surat before the departure of the ships.^[2]

John Jacobs was knighted in 1633, and created a baronet on January 11th, 1665.^[3] Burke's Baronetcies confirms that Sir John Jacob had a son, Francis, who died without issue. Francis was his second son by his second wife Alice Clowes, daughter of Thomas Clowes.^[4]

Francis Jacobs may have been in Surat prior to Sir George Oxenden's arrival. Dr Richard Ball, the father of the above mentioned Richard Ball, stated in a letter to Sir George Oxenden dated March 16th, 1662/63 and sent from Ely House, that his son has been in Surat for some years:

My Suite unto you is for my Sonn: to yo:r care he had y:e happiness to be comitted Seaven yeares Since, he was then A Child: A man, I heare he is now, in his Body, I hope Alsoe in his Braine: At least yo:r encouradgement will make him Soo, I am flatterd if he doth not doo well, A line or two from yo:r Penn will sett me a bove Doubts, as he shall be found to deserve, soe lett him find you his Freind, & for him to know Soe much would highly engage him; The fourth yeare is now begunn, & I have not heard of any Wages he gets Recvdd from y:e Comp:a^[5]

Sir George Smith reported Sir John Jacobs' own death three years later in a letter to Sir George Oxenden dated March 14th, 1665/66, sent from London:

S:r Nich:o Crispe^[6] and S:r John Jacob died lately Madam Dalyson continues ill the God of heaven restore Her to health^[7]

Sir John Jacob purchased an estate in St. Leonard Bromley in 1634, which he retained until his death in 1666. An anonymous pen and wash study exists of the building dated 1692. The study shows an L-shaped building, seven bays wide , with a central archway, and two short wings. The building was three stories high, together with a basement, and had a slate or possibly tiled roof.^[8]

The building was assessed in 1666 as having thirty-two hearths. This put it on the same scale as the St John's, Clerkenwell house of George, Lord Berkeley (thirty-two hearths), and the Yorkshire home of Sir John Lewis (thirty-one hearths), both men being correspondents of Sir George Oxenden, the latter having amassed considerable capital in Persia as the English East India Company's Persian agent.^[9] Another merchant's house of similar extent was the Edmonton home of John Bathurst, a London merchant engaged in trade with the East Indies and XXXX.^[10]

Two further correspondents, both London merchants, had houses in the same parish of St. Leonard Bromley as Sir John Jacobs. However, their homes were significantly smaller: Christopher Boone had a Bromley home of nine hearths and Thomas Tomlins had a Bromley home of thirteen hearths.^[11]

Suggested links

See Sir John Jacobs will

To do

(1) Check transcription against physical manuscript at BL

View of Sir John Jacobs' residence at Bromley St Leonard

Anon., 'View of Sir John Jacobs' residence at Bromley St Leonard, now at Bromley-by-Bow, Tower Hamlets' (London, 1792)
- Image viewable of Sir John Jacobs residence at City of London Corporation Collage website

Image credits & copyright information

Anon., 'View of Sir John Jacobs' residence at Bromley St Leonard, now at Bromley-by-Bow, Tower Hamlets', in XXXX (London, 1792)
- Pen/wash, paper, longest dimension 20 cm.
- Held at London Metropolitan Archives, cat. no. p.68, p5434944
Pub. in Daniel Lysons' Environs of London, vol.II, pt.i

Transcription

This transcription has been completed, but required checking

[BL, Add. MS. XX,XXXX, f. 34]

Hon:d S:r

Though my Grief e be great for y:e loss of my Poore boy Francis Jacob,^[12] yet I cannot but take this Opportunity to Congratulate w:th hopes of yo:r Safe Arrivall at Surr:tt. W:ch I Suppose will be y:e more Acceptable to you because it ?preeds now from my pure Affection w:thout any Interest of Obligation in his Respect I hope M:r Goodjer^[13] is Safe & well w:th you, to whome I delivered ffifty Pounds to furnish him if alive towards some little Improvem:t there, but y:t being Frustratd; I hereby Intreat at yo:r Noble ffav:r to take Notice of it, y:t if M:r Goodjer be alive he may please According to my directions att his depture to Invest it in Something of y:t countrey y:t may be usefull here, y:t Since y:e Principall be gonn, I may not neglect y:e Interest in Soe small á matter; I have written to M:r Goodjer to y:e same effect, who if alive I know will fathly follow my orders, but if dead, (w:ch in Such á voyadge is an even lay, I humbly pray yo:r Enquiry; And if theire be any thing here wherein I may Serve you I pray hon:r me w:th yo:r desires w:ch Shalbe as comm:ds to

S:r
Yo:r most humble Serv:t
Jn:o Jacobs

Notes

Sir John Jacobs

"[March 6, 1661] The Court promises to consider the request of Dr. Ball and Sir John Jacobs for their sons at Surat to be confirmed in their respective entertainments before the departure of the ships"^[14]

"[March 27, 1661] Messrs. Bolle [Ball?], Jacob, and Bernard, lately entertained as factors, to be each allowed a salary of 20/. a year."^[15]

"[December 11, 1663] Spice to be presented to Sir John Wolstenholme, Sir John Harrison, Sir Nicholas Crispe, Sir John Jacob, and Sir John Shaw, Farmers of the Customs ; also to Messrs. Dawes, Rumbolt, Turner, Seamer, and Kenniston, officers of the Custom-house."^[16]

Sir John Jacob, 1st Baronet, Wikipedia

"Sir John Jacob, 1st Baronet (c1597-1666) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640 and 1641. He supported the Royalist side in the English Civil War.

Jacob was the son of Abraham Jacob of Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire and his wife Mary Rogers daughter of Francis Rogers of Dartford.[1] He matriculated at Merton College, Oxford on 17 January 1617, aged 19 and was awarded BA on 6 February 1617. He became a farmer of customs in the Port of London .[2] He was knighted on 8 May 1633 and in 1634 purchased an estate at Bromley St Leonards.[3]

In April 1640, Jacob was elected Member of Parliament for Harwich in the Short Parliament. He was elected MP for Rye for the Long Parliament in November 1640.[4] However he was expelled in 1641 as a tobacco monopolist. He supported the Royalist cause and his lands were sequestered.[1]

On the restoration he regained his office and was created a baronet of Bromley in the County of Middlesex on 11 January 1665.[2]

Jacob died in 1666 at the age of 62. He built almshouses at Gaminglay and left money to the parish to support them.[1]

Jacob married firstly Elizabeth Halliday, daughter of John Halliday and had two sons who died before him and a daughter Susanna who married Sir Richard WIngfield Bt. He married secondly Alice Eaglesfield, widow of John Eaglesfield of London and daughter of Thomas Clowes of London and their son John succeeded in the baronetcy. He married thirdly Elizabeth Ashburnham, daughter of Sir John Ashburnham.[1]"^[17]

John Goodyer, 1650, & 1661

"[February 25, 1650] In Persia: George Tash, John Lewis, Thomas Best, and John Goodyeare."^[18]

"[December 18, 1661] The following men are entertained for Surat: John Spiller at 100/. a year to go as second to the President ; John Goodyear at 100 marks a year ; Gerard Aungeir, Charles Smeaton and Strensham Maisters, ' now at Suratt ', at 30/. each a year; Caesar Chamberlen, John Pettit, Charles Bendish, and Richard Francis at 25/. a year ; William Jones, William Blackman, Henry Chune, and Henry Oxinden at 20/. a year."^[19]

"[March 21, 1662] John Goodyear is given 10/. for fresh provisions, and Thomas Thomlings is accepted in 1,000/. as his security"^[20]

Possible primary sources

TNA

1. ↑ 'A Court of Committees for the Fourth Joint Stock, February 25, 1650' (Court Book, vol. xx, p. 494), in Ethel Bruce Sainsbury (ed.), A Calendar of the Court Minutes of the East India Company, 1650-1654 (Oxford, 1913), p. 24
2. ↑ 'A Court of Committees, March 6, 1661 (Court Book, vol. xxiv, p. 349), in Ethel Bruce Sainsbury (ed.), A Calendar of the Court Minutes of the East India Company, 1660-1663 (Oxford, 1922), p. 97
3. ↑ This is the footnote text
4. ↑ 'Jacob, of Bromley', "He m. first, Elizabeth, daughter of John, grandson of Sir Leonard Halliday, knt. lord mayor of London, and by her had two sons, Abraham and Henry, who both died before him issueless, and a daughter, Susanna, the wife of Sir Richard Wingfield, bart. of Letheringham, in Suffolk. Sir John m. secondly, Alice, daughter of Thomas Clowes, of London, and relicit of John Eaglesfield, also of London, merchant, by whom he had: John, his heir; Francis, d.s.p.; Robert, killed in Scotland, d.s.p.; Alice, m. to Henry West, esq. of Wooham Court, in Sussex; Mary, m. to Walter, son and heir of Sir Arnold Beams, knt. of Bridge Court, in Kent; Helen, m. to John, son of Sir John Hebdon. He wedded. thirdly, Elizabeth, eldest daughter and co-heir of Sir John Ashburnham, knt. by whom he had a daughter, Margaret, m. to (N/A) Muschamp, esq. of Row Barnes, in Surrey." (John Burke, John Bernard Burke, A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies of England (London, 1838), p. 279
5. ↑ 16th March 1662/63, Letter from Richard Ball to Sir GO, Holborn
6. ↑ In his entry for 'Jacob, of Bromley', Burke's Baronetcies writes: "Lloyd, in his memoirs of eminent persons who suffered for their allegiance, thus mentions him: 'We must not separate Sir Nicholas Crisp from the worshipful Sir John Jacob, his partner, both in the farming of the Custom House, and his sufferings" (John Burke, John Bernard Burke, A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies of England (London, 1838), p. 279
7. ↑ 14th March 1665/66, Letter from George Smith to SirGO, London
8. ↑ Anon., 'View of Sir John Jacobs' residence at Bromley St Leonard, now at Bromley-by-Bow, Tower Hamlets' (London, 1792)
9. ↑ See Hearth Tax); 'St. James, Clerkenwell...Lord Barckley 32 hearths', 'Hearth Tax: Middlesex 1666: Clerkenwell (1 of 2)', London Hearth Tax: City of London and Middlesex, 1666 (2011). URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=118828 Date accessed: 22 January 2012; David Hey, 'Introduction: the West Riding in the Late Seventeenth century', p. 26, pub. in http://www.hearthtax.org.uk/communities/westriding/westridingintro.pdf, viewed 24/01/24
10. ↑ 'Edmundton...Jno. Bathurst Esqr. 31 hearths', 'Hearth Tax: Middlesex 1666: Edmonton ', London Hearth Tax: City of London and Middlesex, 1666 (2011). URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=118836 Date accessed: 06 February 2012
11. ↑ 'Hearth Tax: Middlesex 1666: Bromley ', London Hearth Tax: City of London and Middlesex, 1666 (2011). URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=118823 Date accessed: 25 January 2012; See also Hearth Tax
12. ↑ Francis Jacob, son of John Jacobs, was XXXX. See Missing faces
13. ↑ John Goodyer was entertained as a factor in Surat in February 1662, and went out to Surat in XXXX
14. ↑ 'A Court of Committees, March 6, 1661 (Court Book, vol. xxiv, p. 349), in Ethel Bruce Sainsbury (ed.), A Calendar of the Court Minutes of the East India Company, 1660-1663 (Oxford, 1922), p. 97
15. ↑ 'A Court of Committees, March 27, 1661' (Court Book, vol. xxiv, p. 359), in Ethel Bruce Sainsbury (ed.), A Calendar of the Court Minutes of the East India Company, 1660-1663 (Oxford, 1922), p. 104
16. ↑ 'A Court of Committees, December 11, 1663 (Court Book, vol. xxiv, p. 712), in Ethel Bruce Sainsbury (ed.), A Calendar of the Court Minutes of the East India Company, 1660-1663 (Oxford, 1922), p. 366
17. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_John_Jacob,_1st_Baronet, viewed 22/01/12; Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details.
18. ↑ 'A Court of Committees for the Fourth Joint Stock, February 25, 1650' (Court Book, vol. xx, p. 494), in Ethel Bruce Sainsbury (ed.), A Calendar of the Court Minutes of the East India Company, 1650-1654 (Oxford, 1913), p. 24
19. ↑ 'A Court of Committees, December 18, 1661' (Court Book, vol. xxiv, p. 439), in Ethel Bruce Sainsbury (ed.), A Calendar of the Court Minutes of the East India Company, 1660-1663 (Oxford, 1922), pp. 167-168
20. ↑ 'A Court of Committees, March 21, 1662' (Court Book, vol. xxiv, p. 473), in Ethel Bruce Sainsbury (ed.), A Calendar of the Court Minutes of the East India Company, 1660-1663 (Oxford, 1922), p. 192