Edward Colman, of Great Waldingfield, clothier

Biography

Edward Colman, son of William Colman, was probably born about 1528, Great Waldingfield, Suffolk, England. He was buried 26 Aug 1598 Great Waldingfield, Suffolk, England. [6] He left a will as of "Edward Colman, of Great Waldingfield, Suffolk, clothier", his Will dated 27 Oct 1596 and proved 23 Nov 1598. [7] [8][9]

He married firstly Alice Wincoll dau. of Roger Wincoll of Little Waldingfield, Suffolk. [1]

1. John Colman (d. bef.1598)
2. Rachel (Colman) Gale (c.1548 - 1593 M. Robert Gale
3. William Colman (1548-bef.1612) M. Margaret Rolfe
4. Anthony Colman (C1550-1614)
5. Edward Colman (c.1850 - 1577)
6. Ann (Colman) Goldingham (b. 1554) M.1 John Creswell 2. Reynold Goldingham.
7. Daniel Colman (b. 1556) Died young?
8. Frances Colman (b. 1558)
9. Thomas Colman (abt.1560-1620) M.1 Ann Alston 2. Ann Wade

He married Ann Cutler of Sproughton, Suffolk, said to be daughter of Robert Cutler of Sproughton in the visitation. [2] However, Robert Battle in a lengthy study in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, has shown conclusively that this is not the case and that she was actually the daughter of Thomas Cutler an Ipswich merchant and his wife Julian (nee Derehaugh) [2]

1. Anne (Coleman) Thorndike (1565 - 1631) M. 1. Peter Scarlet 2. Herbert Thorndike.
2. Alice (Coleman) Thorndike (1568-bef.1624) M. Francis Thorndike
3. Samuel Colman (1572-1653) M. Mary Bettison
4. Abigail Colman (1574 - 1577)

Edward Colman was assessed 21 shillings on a worth of £16 in lands in Great Waldingfield [Waldingfild Magna cum Chilton] in 1568. [3]

On 21 October 1585, Edward Colman and his wife Anne (widow of Roger Rolfe), together with his stepson Robert Rolfe the younger and brother-in-law Robert Rolfe the elder, were sued by John Rolfe of Rye, Sussex (brother of Robert the elder and Roger) for return of his land in Hadleigh. [4]

On 4 January 1591/2, Edward deeded various properties in Great Waldingfield, Little Waldingfield and Acton, and Bradfield to Robert Rolfe of Toppesfield, Essex, gent., and Francis Thorndike, for his own use and, after his death, for the use of his son Samuel Colman [5]

Will

• Will of Edward Colman, Clothier of Great Waldingfield, Suffolk < Catalog description >
• Written 27 Oct 1596
• To the poor people and children of the parish a tenement with yards and gardens belonging and now or late in the tenure of William Kendoll, called Cobbe's'. The profits to be distributed annually by the churchwardens of the parish.
• To Mr Lovell our minister £5
• To Mr. Knewstubbe and Mr. Sandes £5 each.
• To Francis Thornedike, my grandchild, £20 to be paid when he reaches his full age of twenty upon the condition that my son in law Francis Thorndike and his wife Alice, my daughter (daughter of Edward Colman) shall upon sufficient request release unto my son William Colman all their right & c. in a tenement called Sheppardes wherein my cousin Charles Ray now dwells. Together with two pastures adjacent to the tenement and a meadow called Knights meadow, containing one acre, between shadow croft and Chipp croft, as by an indenture bearing the date 3rd July of the 28th year of Queen Elizabeth.
• and should my son in law Francis Thorndike not release said land, the £20 aforesaid shall go to my grandson Robert Coleman (son of my son William).
• To my grandson Edward Colman, son of my son Samuel, £10 at age 21 years.
• To William Colman my eldest son my manor called Abbott's Hall in Brent Leigh during his natural life. And after his decease to john Colman, William's eldest son.
• To son William Colman my tenement called Herriots or Mellows with lands called Broxhill, bareland, parkfield, Allgooddownn and one aother piece of four acres in the manor of Badley's in Great Waldingfield. And after said William's decease, said lands then go to John Colman, eldest son of my son William.
• To son William my manor called Badleys (excepting lands otherwise given) and one piece of freehold land I bought of john Kendall and now in the occupation of john Pettican, Adn after Wiliam;s decease said lands to Robert Colman, Williams second son.
• To son William my tenement in Great Waldingfield called Sheppards that my cousin Charles Raydoe now inhabits, with those two meadows called Knights. And after his decease same unto John Colman eldest son of my son William.
• To son William my tenement in Pentlowe called Ropers. Copyhold lands holden of the manor of Foxheard, in the tenure of George Clerke of Pentlowe. And after his decease to Robert Colman the 2nd son of my son William.
• To son William my copyhold land called Lords park now in occupation of William Cowper of Easthus and Thomasine Sheldrake widow.
• To son William all my household stuff. Also one down bed and four featherbeds. Also the bedstead in my chamber and my posted bedsetaad in the little chamber. Also the table in the parlour.
• To son William all my wearing apparel.
• To son William my great brass pot, my best copper kettles, two brass pans, two of my longest spits. Twos ilver bowls and a silve salt.
• Household stuff unbequeathed to son Samuel.
• Son William named executor.
• Will signed and sealed 1 Nov 1596.

  ---

From: The Rise of Edward Colman by Andrew Barclay (available on the JSTOR database)

[the book is about Edward Colman (born 1635). The Edward senior** listed below (born 1548) is his greatgrandfather]

Brent Eleigh is, in the words of Diarmaid MacCulloch, 'a very ordinary agricultural village' in the south-west corner of Suffolk. Situated two miles downstream from Lavenham on a tributary of the River Stour, it lies in that part of Suffolk which, in the early seventeenth century, had long been famous for its cloth production and, more recently, for the vigour and purity of its Protestantism.

Like most of the major families in the area, the Colmans had originally made their money from cloth. During the middle decades of the sixteenth century, Colman's great-grandfather and exact namesake, Edward Colman of Great Waldingfield, had established himself as one of the wealthiest of the clothiers in Lavenham.

As is well known, the arrival of the new draperies soon sent Lavenham into terminal decline and it can perhaps be claimed that Edward Colman senior** was the last in the long line of men who made quick fortunes in this, the most celebrated of all late-medieval English boom towns. Predictably, the family invested his fortune in land and in 1607 his younger son, Samuel, bought the manors of Brent Eleigh and Fennhall from Sir RobertJermyn of Rushbrooke.

Although they were never quite the equals of some of their neighbours, such as the Springs, the D'Eweses or the Winthrops, the Colmans of Brent Eleigh had, within a couple of generations, risen to a respectable rank among the Suffolk gentry.

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Millennium File about Edward Coleman
Birth Date: 1548
Birth City: Gt.Waldingfield
Birth County: Suff
Birth Country: England
Death Date: 1598
Death City: Gt.Waldingfield
Death County: Suff
Death State: Eng
Death Country: England

References

1. https://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p2362.htm... (no sources)
2. WikiTree contributors, "Edward Coleman (abt.1528-1598)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Coleman-706 : accessed 02 January 2025). shows as son of William Colman.
3. Battle, Robert. The Colman and Cutler Ancestry of John¹ Thorndike of Essex County, Massachusetts, with the Colman Ancestry of John¹ Coggeshall, Muriel¹ (Gurdon) Saltonstall, and Jemima¹ (Waldegrave) Pelham, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 2021) Vol. 175, Page 180-192. < AmericanAncestors >; (document attached) Page 90-1/ Also see footnote #69.
4. "Last Will and Testament of Edward Colman the Clothier" (image attached)
5. Waters, Henry F., Genealogical Gleanings in England, NEHGR (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1897) Vol. 51, Page 127. < Archive.Org >
6. Inquisition post mortem of Edward Colman Page 182, footnote 89: "From the inquisition post mortem of Edward Colman, his son and heir William Colman was aged 50 and more at his death (The National Archives, C 142/258/93). < catalog listing >