Ambrose Smith or Smythe (died 1584) was a London mercer in Cheapside and silkman who supplied Elizabeth I
Smith was a son of John Smith (died 1545) of Withcote, near Oakham, in Leicestershire, and Dorothy Cave, a sister of Ambrose Cave. John Leland visited their "right goodly house" at Withcote in 1539, "one of the fairest houses in Leicestershire".[1]
His older brother Roger Smith (died 1603) inherited the estate, but Ambrose bought it from him in 1575.[2] Roger Smith married Frances Griffin, a daughter of Thomas Griffin of Dingley.[3]
Ambrose Smith supplied velvet, satin, taffeta, and sarsenet to Queen Elizabeth.[4]
He sold fabrics to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester and Amy Robsart, some for the use of their Spanish tailor.[5] Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond owed him money in 1580. Ambrose Smith died in 1584.[6]
Marriage and family edit
Ambrose Smith married Jane Cooe or Coe, daughter of John Coe of Coxhall, or Coggeshall, Essex. Their children included:
- Henry Smith of Withcote, who married Anne, a daughter of Henry Skipwith. They were the parents of Henry Smith (regicide).
- Dorothy Smith, who married (1) Benedict Barnham,[7] (2) John Pakington, (3) Robert Needham, 1st Viscount Kilmorey, (4) Thomas Erskine, 1st Earl of Kellie. She was the mother of Alice Barnham who married Francis Bacon.[8]
- Elizabeth Smith, who married Martin Calthorpe of Antingham, Norfolk (died 1615), son of the Lord Mayor of London, Martin Calthorp and Jane Heath.
- Francis Smith, who married Elizabeth Taylor, daughter of the haberdasher John Taylor
- Isabell Smith, after her father's death, in 1587, her husband wrote to Francis Walsingham for assistance.[9]
- Margaret Smith, who married Thomas Wilkes
- Sir William Smith, who married Elizabeth Skinner, daughter of Thomas Skinner.[10]
Ambrose's brother, Erasmus Smith of Husbands Bosworth, was the father of Henry Smith (1560-1591), and grandfather of the merchant Erasmus Smith (1611–1691).[11]
References edit
- ^ Thomas Hearne, Itinerary of John Leland, vol. 1 (Oxford, 1768), p. 28.
- ^ Ronald Jenkins, The Life and Writings of Henry Smith: England's Silver-tongued Preacher (Macon, Georgia, 1983), p. 75.
- ^ Visitation of Leicester, p. 66.
- ^ Janet Arnold, Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd (Maney, 1988), p. 172.
- ^ Simon Adams, Household Accounts and Disbursement Books of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (Cambridge, 1995), pp. 87, 123, 177.
- ^ Calendar State Papers Ireland, 1574-1585, p. 210.
- ^ Bendall, S. Barnham, Benedict (bap. 1559, d. 1598), merchant and benefactor. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ Visitation of London, 1568 (London, 1869), p. 33.
- ^ Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, 1558-1589, 21:2, p. 379.
- ^ Visitation of Leicester, 1619 (London, 1870), p. 67.
- ^ Visitation of London, 1568 (London, 1869), p. 33.