1569 was the year the first lottery was held in England, the prize was £5000. It was also the year Mary Queen of Scots was first imprisoned and of the Northern Rebellion against Elizabeth I.
Mary Queen of Scots François Clouet, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
It was also an important year for the Lanyon family.
In 1567 William Laniene esq died. We don’t know his date of birth but his eldest son was born about 1516 and he had older sisters so it is estimated that William was born in the 1480s. There is an Inquisition Post Mortem of William Laniene of Coswynwollard, Gwinnear from 1586 which gives the date 20 Mar 1567 as the date of his death. This Inquisition gives his son Richard’s age as 70 (in 1586), so he was already 51 when he inherited his father’s estate in 1567.
In 1562 at the time of his son John’s marriage to Phelype Myliton, Richard was living at Tregaminian in Morvah. In 1567 he moved to Coswynwollard in Gwinear (now called Lanyon.)
Map of the Lanyon Estate at Gwinear
We don’t know which lands, if any, William Laniene senior intended for his sons as there is no will. In 1569 Richard granted estates to his brothers.
William ‘Generosi’ Lanyon
Richard’s brother William had been living at the family estate in Gwinear. His first wife Tamson was buried there on 26 Jun 1563. His son Baldwin was baptised at Gwinear on 1 Apr 1561 and buried 24 Jun 1563 just two days before his mother.
William was given the estate Tregonen at Breage. He appears on the Breage Muster Roll of 1569 ‘Furnished long bow sheaf arrows steel cap and black bill’ and he lived there until his death in 1597. His burial is listed in the Breage parish register where he is described as ‘generosi’.
Tregonning Hill near Breage which may be the location of Tregonen
Walter Lanyon
Walter married Elizabeth Nanspyan of St Erth. He is listed on the 1569 Muster Roll for St Erth ‘Bow shaft arrows, ability B’. His father owned land at St Erth as it is listed on the 1523 Penwith Subsidy Roll as having a value of 41 shillings (the same as the Gwinear estate.)
In 1569 he was given the tenancy of the Barton of Lanyon (the ancestral family home) at Madron by his brother Richard. Hendersons MSS 30534 pt 7 gives details of the lease and confirms the names of Walter’s son (John) and three grandsons (Francis, Alexander and David) also their ages.
The ancestral home at Lanyon near Madron. Bosullow was also part of the estate.
Edward Lanyon
The only record we have of William Lanyon having a son called Edward is a record from Kresen Kernow (Cornwall Record Office) AR/3/39 dated 11 Feb 1586. It’s a lawsuit over Crugmoreck in St Merryn.
“…..that Richard Lanyen esquire, on 20 September 1569 (11 Elizabeth), had granted to party (1-Edward Lanyen) 30 acres of land, being one close called Crukemorecke (parish of Seynt Meryn), for (1) to hold for term of 6 years from St Bartholomew last past [24 Aug 1569]; on the following 26 Sep [1569], (2-George Arundell)-(3-John Michall) forcibly entered the tenement and ejected him from it…”
The case goes on to mention that the sheriff of Cornwall Peter Edgecombe esq was a kinsman of Edward. Peter was the son of Joan Tregian the daughter of Thomas Tregian and that Edward was the son of Thomasine Tregian the daughter of Thomas Tregian.
We don’t know what happened to Edward after 1586. We don’t know if he had any children. All we know is that Richard Lanyon esq granted him the lease of the estate in Crugmoreck in 1569. There is an Edward Leyne on the Padstow muster roll of 1569 ‘bow 6 arr, ability a-ar’. Could this be the same person?
We don’t know where Crugmoreck lies today but the Lanyons owned lands at Harlyn, St Ervan, St Merryn and Padstow. Perhaps Crugmeer is the location?
James and Mary had two sons and five grandsons to carry on the family name.
Thomas Lanyon 1750-1823
Thomas was baptised at Breage in 1750, he was a tinner at St Michael’s Mount and married Sibella Dusting/Disting at St Hilary in 1778. They had four children:
Catharine 1778-1779 died in infancy
Catharine 1781- in 1822 a Catherine Lanyon married Richard James at Breage could be this Catharine?
Thomas 1783-1859
William 1791-1871
Thomas senior was buried at St Hilary in 1823. Sibella was buried there in 1830.
Cornish Tin Mne – Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
James Lanyon 1758-bef. 1851
James was baptised at Breage in 1758, he too was a tinner and he married Ann Sirrell at Breage in 1789 (William Lenine was a witness). They had eight children:
Margaret 1790-1872 baptised at Germoe in 1790 and two possible marriages may be hers – William Pearce 1809 at Germoe and George Gregory 1838 at Uny Lelant – two children from the marriage to George
Ann 1791-1873 she married William Bosanko at Germoe in 1834 no children
Catherine 1793-1883 in 1818 she gave birth to an illegitimate daughter at Sithney (Catherine Lanyon of Rosladen, Breage). In 1822 she married Richard James a miner at Breage – three daughters. Catherine died at Germoe aged 90.
Florence 1796-1875 she married Joseph Thomas at Germoe in 1821 – six children
William 1799-1854 was a tin miner, he married Mary Curnow at Germoe in 1822 and they had four children: William 1824 no further trace, Maria 1827-aft. 1901 married John Thomas – six children and two daughters who died in infancy. He then married Ann Beckerleg in 1834 and they had one daughter.
Elizabeth 1805- had an illegitimate son William baptised at Germoe in 1826 no further trace of him. Elizabeth then married William Peters at Germoe in 1829
Mary 1807- no further trace
James 1810-1829 he died age 19 at Germoe
There is no one traceable to continue James’ line. He died before 1851, his widow is listed on the 1851 census as living with her widowed daughter Ann Bosanko and is described as a pauper aged 83.
1851 Census for Germoe
John Lanyon 1763-1835
John was baptised at Breage in 1763 and like his brothers he was a tinner. He married Florence Michell (a relative of his mother) in 1789 at Breage. Their only daughter Ann was baptised at Germoe in Sep 1790, her mother Florence was buried in Jan 1791 aged just 28. Ann married James Provis at St Hilary in 1815.
John married for a second time in Aug 1792 at Breage to Catherine Pope (Witnesses Richard Michell and Thomas Kitto). They had three children:
John 1793-1869
William 1795-1802 died young
Florence Michell 1797-1864 she married Michael Benny at Helston in 1818, they had six children and she died in London in 1864
John senior died at Germoe in 1835 age 77 which gives him a date of birth of 1758, he could have been baptised when he was age 5 or his family may have miscalculated his age when he died.
There were lots of mines in the Germoe/Breage/St Hilary area.
We don’t know which mines they worked in but this film will give you an idea of what it was like.
Richard Lanyon 1770-aft. 1841
Richard was baptised at Germoe in 1770, he was a blacksmith at Marazion. He married his cousin Jane Lanyon at St Hilary in 1794. They had eight children:
William 1794-1871
Richard 1796-1797 died in infancy
Jennifer Jane 1797-1877 married Charles Gundry, a farmer, three children
Richard 1799-1835 died age 35 at Marazion, unmarried
Catherine 1802- aft. 1881 married John Roberts, a miner, she was still alive in 1881 and according to the census her two daughters Eliza (tailoress) and Jane (dressmaker) were living with her and her grandson William, illegitimate son of one of the daughters.
John 1804-1806 died in infancy
Mary John 1806-she married Thomas Harris Roberts at St Hilary in 1841 no further trace
Julia 1809-1843 living with her father on the 1841 census and dead by 1843
Richard senior was still alive in 1841 and living with youngest daughter Julia but after that no trace of his death. He’s often confused with the Richard Lanyon who died at Lostwithiel in 1848.
Victorian Blacksmith – Summer A. Smith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
James Lanyon 1759-1848
James was the son of James and Catherine Brownfield. He was baptised at Breage in 1759 and married Grace Harry at Germoe in 1790. They had five children:
James 1790- he was a labourer and married Christian Arthur at Breage in 1812, one daughter Mary Anne baptised at Camborne in 1812. There is a Christian Lanyone on the 1841 census living at Helston but no sign of her husband. No further trace.
John 1794-bef. 1796 died in infancy
John 1796-bef. 1808 died in infancy
Jennifred 1799- no further trace
John 1808-1855
James’ wife Grace Harry died in 1815. In 1819 he married again in Mawgan in Meneage to Ann Rogers. They had one son:
Thomas 1819-1855
James died at Mullion in 1848 and Ann Rogers died in 1863 at Mullion.
Out of the five grandsons of James Lanyon and Mary Pearce there were only five great grandsons with children to follow.
William Laniene and Thomasine Tregian had four sons: Richard, William & Walter and a previously undocumented son – Edward.
Richard was the son and heir, Walter lived at Madron, we lose track of Edward after 1586 and William founded the Breage branch of the Lanyon tree.
William ‘Generosi’ Lanyon had 8 children and with the exception of Baldwin it’s not clear who gave birth to each child. I’ve noted the dates of marriage as we don’t have dates of baptism for any of them except Baldwin.
William was probably born about 1520 in Gwinear. There is no mention of any Lanyon on the Breage Subsidy Roll of 1543 so his move to that area happened after that date, possibly 1569.
William’s first wife was Tamson, we don’t know the date of marriage nor how many children they had. William and Tamson had a son Baldwin who was buried on 24 Jun 1563 at Gwinear aged 2 and Tamson was buried two days later.
Sometime after 1563 William married Margaret. Variously I’ve seen her named as Margaret Tresilian or Margaret Kekewich but can’t find any proof for either.
There are a further seven children but it is not clear if they are from the first or second marriage.
William abt. 1550-1630
Phelype abt. 1558-
Mary -1614
Elizabeth abt. 1560-
Margaret abt. 1560-1634
Bennett abt. 1566-
Francis abt. 1566-
In 1553 William is mentioned in a pre-marital settlement on Benedict Penrose and Jone Lanyon, his sister. William is a trustee and is called ‘junior’ as his father William Laniene is still alive.
William is listed on the 1569 Muster Roll for Breage, Cornwall. “Furnished long bow sheaf arrows steel cap and black bill. Willm Lanyne”
In 1581 William Lanyon of Tregonen in Breage, gent, and William Lanyen (sic) junior his son and heir to William Painter of Trelysick heir in St Erth ‘Trelysick Walbert in Erghe’. (Source – Royal Institution of Cornwall.) This is the only mention of their home ‘Tregonen’ that I’ve come across. Tregonen may be Tregonning today.
In 1582 William was appointed overseer by John Rashleigh of Fowey (his brother-in-law).
William appears in the records again in 1595 at Helston, William Lanion (sic) gent of Breage, 4 pieces of tin of 1726lbs for coining.
He was buried on 7 Aug 1597 at Breage and left a will which is now sadly lost. In the Breage parish records he is described as ‘generosi’ due to his generosity.
Jane Veale Mitchell suggests that George Lanyon, gent, of Sancreed is the son of this William. I have found no documentary evidence but she did have access to wills which are now destroyed.
William Lanyon’s Children
William Lanyon abt.1550-1630
William Junior (eldest son and heir) married Elizabeth Kerne alias Tresilian the daughter of Paskowe Kerne alias Tresilian and Margaret Vivyan. They married at Breage in 1572 which makes it likely that he was born in the 1550s. They had two children:
William -1591 died in infancy
Maria -1592 died in infancy
William died at Breage in 1630 with no other heirs.
Mary Lanyon -1614
Mary married Walter Borlase at Breage in 1576 so was probably born in the 1550s. They had nine children:
William 1577-1653
Philippa 1579-1682 married Nicholas Hicks
Thomas 1583-
Walter 1584-1679
Harry 1585-1653
Mary 1586-1681
Dorothie 1587-1684 married John Keigwin
John 1600-1664 married Cheston Pawley, their daughter Mary Borlase married John Lanyon of St Ives (Botrea branch of the tree.)
Ann
Walter Borlase died in 1601 and Mary married William Chiverton.
Elizabeth Lanyon abt. 1560–
Elizabeth married Mychell Trelobus at Breage in 1581. No further information about them.
Phelype Lanyon abt. 1558-
Phelype Lanyon married Rychard Herryes at Breage in 1583. No further information about them.
Margaret Lanyon abt. 1550-1634
Margaret married John Code at Breage in 1584. They had five children: John, Blancia, Loveday, Thomasin and Elizabeth. John’s grand daughter Patience married Ralph Lanyon (the son of Thomas Lanyon and Mary Levelis of Madron.)
Francis Lanyon bef. 1566-aft. 1587
Francis is mentioned in a legal document of 1587 which shows he is at least 21 and therefore born 1566 or earlier. There is no further trace of him.
“ME Edgcumbe family of Cotehele, Calstock and Mount Edgcumbe, Maker.
Ref No ME/501Title: Quitclaim, land in Menyghye Veor, Wendron
Date 1 May 1587
Description
Parties: 1) Bennett Lanyen and Francis Lanyen, gentlemen of Breage
2) William Lanyen of Breage, gentleman, father of party 1.
Property: Land held of demise of Edward Sparnan, gentleman, deceased, in Menyghye Veor in Wendron.”
Bennett Lanyon bef. 1566
Bennett married in 1589 to Katheren Cocke and they had four children:
John aft. 1589-aft. 1626
Bennet 1601-1601 died in infancy
Grace 1609- no further trace
William – 1616 died young
His second marriage was to Margeri Wake in 1620 at St Michael Penkevil. No children traced from this marriage.
Bennett’s descendants
John Lanyon aft. 1589-aft. 1626
John, the son of Bennett, married Judith Nowell at St Michael Penkevil on 26 Apr 1618. They had four children:
In 1641/2 he or his son John, signed the Protestation Return for St Michael Penkevil – name spelt John Lanine. If he signed the protestation return he must have been alive in 1641/2. There is only one Lanyon that signed the Protestation Return so it seems likely that it was signed by his son and he was dead by this date.
Margrie 1622- a Margery Lanyne married Thomas Langdon at Truro St Mary in 1654, it’s possible that it is this Margery
Agnes born abt 1620. there is no evidence that Agnes was John & Judith’s daughter but she married William Ceely at St Michael Penkevil 22 Jun 1646 and there is no other Lanyon family in the town at that time.
John 1624- aft. 1664 married with five children
Kateren 1626-1626 died in infancy
Bennodine -1629 died in infancy
St Michael Penkevil Church is close to Lamorran on the map.
John was the son of John & Judith. He is probably the person who signed the 1641/2 Protestation Return. In 1664 he paid Hearth Tax in St Michael Penkevil.
The Parochial History of Cornwall by Davies Gilbert. 1838 described him thus:
“Mr. John Lanyon of this parish, a sea sand barge daily labourer.”
John married Mary, we don’t know the surname of John’s wife as his marriage wasn’t recorded but they had five children:
Johane 1648- no further trace
John 1652-1726
Elizabeth 1657- no further trace
Anne 1662- no further trace
Bennett – 1661 died young
We don’t have any record of what happened to his daughters, but we do know what happened to his son John.
John Lanyon 1652-1726
John was the eldest son and heir of John Lanyon, a ‘sea sand barge daily labourer’ and his wife Mary.
The Parochial History of Cornwall stated that John senior:
“had a son named John Lanyon who having had his education under Hugh Boscawen, gent, Master of arts, who kept a school at St Michael Penkevill Church, became afterwards a steward to Trefusis, St Aubyn, Coryton and lastly came into the service of Brook Lord Chandos, and having by these services accumulated considerable riches he gave lands and built and endowed an almshouse for poor people.”
The almshouses built in 1726 are still there today.
John may have married Sarah Symons although I cannot find a record for this. He didn’t have any children and died in 1726 at St James in London but left a very interesting will naming lots of Cornish people.
The Will of John Lanyon of St James Westminster – Source NA/PROB 11/620/334
In his will he asks to be buried ‘as near as may be to my wife Sarah.
Mentions brother -in-law Jonah Symons of Mylor (he was a clothier).
Niece Anne Tresidder, wife of Nicholas Tresidder of Budock.
Brother-in-law Richard Oliver, Wymouth, wool stapler.
Codicil dated 1726 mentions sister-in-law Mesdames Francis and Jobson.
Benjamin Brown, son of late brother-in-law Benjamin Brown.
My kinswoman Mrs Lanyon, widow of Thomas Lanyon and daughter. We don’t know which Thomas Lanyon he is referring to.
There is also a property transaction dated 29 Sep 1683 (Source – CRO CY/378) which links John to the Symons family.
James Tillie – Middle Temple Esq
Richard Symons of Kea, yeoman and John Lanyon of Kea, yeoman. Bargain and sale Lanner Wood and Lambe Wood in Kea, part of Manor of Landegay. To have two years ‘for the rynding, felling, cutting down, coaling, working upp and faggotting’ these coppice woods.
This was witnessed by a John Lanyon as well.
(See the post ‘Poisoned?’ in The Black Sheep category, for more information about John.)
And here ends the Breage branch of the tree.
In many parishes, during the Civil War and Interegnum, records were poorly kept or omitted altogether. The government appointed lay people to take on this task rather than priests and as there was a charge for registering births – 4d (and it was births, not baptisms at this time), marriages 1/- and burials 4d many people did not record their family’s life events. The Breage branch may end here but there were probably descendants of this branch that we just cannot trace.
The Lanyons 