Henry Dow

• General Notes
  • Oddly, the Parish records, which gives many names prior, as well as later, does not contain his birth or baptism. In spite of his late marriage, he did much toward a posterity. He died three years before his mother. He was the parish clerk at Runham and for four years signed the register as church warden. The fourth year he signed as Dove.
    This generation married into the families of March and Farrar and continues to this day (1929) of Norfolk County. The mother of Elizabeth March was a Farrar.
    
    Taken from Chancery Inquisitions Post Mortem vol 344, no 94:
    
    Inquisition taken at Walton, co Norfolk, 19th April, 12 James I, after the death of Henry Dowe, yeoman,
    
    The said Henry was seized of a close of arable land called le Wonge close in Runham, containing about 14 acres; in reversion after the death of his mother Margaret Dowe, late the wife of Thomas Dowe, a messuage of land in Runham, Thrigby, and Maultby, still in the occupation of the said Margaret. By his will he bequethed the said messuages to his wife for life, remainder of his son Thomas.
    He died 21 April 11 James I (1614), Thomas his said son and heir being then aged 11 years three months. He is now in the custody of his mother Elizabeth.
    The said close called le Wonge is held of the King by military service, and is worth 13s 3d yearly.
    The Messuage, etc., is held of Sir Thomas Birney, Knight, as of his manor of Strumpsall by fealty and a rent of 16d yearly.
    
    From these records it appears that this particular Dow family were fairly well-to-do and of good standing. Both generations possessed some education and the family came from Catholicism through the Reformation into the Church of England. Henry of the next generation was probably the only dissenter, surely the only Puritan.