General Notes

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Robert Needham, the heir to his brother, William, was knighted on May 31st, 1533. He was Sheriff of Shropshire in 1528, 1535, and 1540, and he was Sheriff of Cheshire in 1538. Robert Needham's Will, dated May 24th, 1556, and probated July 30th, 1557, mentioned: his wife, Agnes: his daughter, Maud Venables, her husband, Sir Thomas Venables, and their daughter, Katheryn Venables: his son-in-law, Sir Andrew Corbett: his cousin and heir, Robert Needham, his brother, John, and his sisters, Jane Needham, Margery Needham, and Dorothy Needham: his son's daughter, Annes Needham, the daughter of Anne Hope: and his cousin, Edward Mainwaring of Whitmore. The executors were Sir Andrew Corbett and Edward Mainwaring. The Estate of Shavington remained in the family, indicating that the testator's "cousin and heir" was actually his grandson, Thomas Needham's oldest son. Also, the will mentioned that Sir Edward Aston owed the testator twelve score marks for the marriage of Robert Needham, the testator's cousin and heir, and it was the testator's grandson, Robert Needham, who, in fact, did marry Frances Aston, Sir Edward Aston's daughter - another indication that the heir of the testator was actually his grandson.