Person:Guy Dobyns (1)

GUYD DOBYNS (GUYC, JOHNB, GUYA) (from ¶5) married (1st) according to Bigland, JOAN ----. ISSUE of this marriage included JOHNE DOBYNS (possibly the elder of two sons of this name) whose descendants are traced in the reference of fn <ddcvfn.htm>. GUYD DOBYNS married (2nd) CATHERINE (or KATHERINE) ----, ISSUE of which marriage included, according to Bigland WILLIAME DOBYNS (See ¶9)The will of GUYD DOBYNS (fn 14 <ddcvfn.htm>), reproduced in manuscript form on pages <will-p1.htm> and <will-p2.htm> [NOTE: These manuscript pages are long and may take a while to load.] and transcribed hereafter, was dated 19 June 20 Henry VIII (1544) and mentions the following children:JOHNE DOBYNS the youngerALEXANDERE DOBYNSROBERTE DOBYNSJAMESE DOBYNSWILLIAME DOBYNSJANEE (or JOAN) DOBYNSThe wife KATHERINE was also mentioned. The will reads as follows: "In the name of god amen yn the yeare of oure lord god on thousand fyve hundredthe fortye and four and the xxth daye June I gye Dobyns of the paryshe of Newent hole of bodye and of mynde do make my testament yn this manner of wyse. fyrst y bequeathe to KATHN my wyffe yf god do hys wyll and send for me yn thys journey my howse yn the town of Newent and also the yndenture of modydeus and bekes medows and after the death of RICHARD CAMEDO (?) she to have the profytt of hops untyll that my son JHO DOBYNS THE YOUNGER be of the age of on and twenty yeares. and the forsayed JHO to enjoie forsayede land durynge the yeares yn the expressed and yf the forsayed JHO do dye wtout yssue of hys bodye lawfullye begotte and then y wyll it to Remayne to my son ALEXANDER, and for defaulte of yssue hym unto my son ROBART, and for lack of yssue of hym unto my son JAMES and to hys hyeres lawfully begoten, and for lacke of yssue of the forsayed chyldren above named then to Remayn to my son WYLLYAM and to hys assygnes durynge the years. also y wyll the forsayed KATHN my wyff do Repaire kepe all manner of Reparacons needful and expedynt upon payne of forfeitynge of her estate. also y geave and bequeathe to my son WYLLYAM DOBYNS to send hym at gramer scule viii £; also y geave to THOMAS DOBYNS and GYE DOBYNS x £ a pece if they wyll be ordred by theyre frendes Iteme y bequeathe to YONGE JHO the som of x £ sterlyng and also on falow hayffer. also y bequeathe to my son ROBERT and also to my so JAMES and ALEXANDR betwyxts them yn even porcon the som of xx £ and if god do hys wyll by the on of the forsayd then hys part to Remayne to the other two and for lacke of lawfful yssue of the second son the forsayde som to Remayne unto the forsayd thyrde son. and for lacke of yssue of them to Remayne yn betwyxt my other chyldren. also y bequeathe my doghtr JANE (or JOAN) the some of xxti marks her chambr and her araye. also y bequeathe to KATHN my wyffe a hundred sheaps. vi oxen. and foure Kyne and all my cropps on the grounde now growyng. the reast of my shepps y wyll that she have to dyscharge my detts and also horsses colts mares and sweyn and ymplements of howsolde and all other catell savyn ye two Kyne and two heyffres the whyche y gave to ROBERT DOBYNS and JAMES my sonnes also if god do hys godly wyll by me y wyll the forsayed catell to be delyvered ymmedyatly aftr my dyscease unto the use and profyt of my fornamed chyldren also y wyll that the fornamed KATH my wyff have the forsayed two howses and the leas of modydeus as long as she kepethe herselfe widow and if she do marrye y wyll that ALEXANDR my son have the hows yn the town of Newent and the the (sic) medow called beke wt an yndenture called modydeus and upon thys y do ordeyn and make ALEXANDR DOBYNS and MAT TORNER, and also RICHARD CROSE my lawffull executors and KATHN my wyffe joyntly wt them to se thys my wyll ffulfylled and theye to have iii s and foure pence a peace for theyre payns takynge there as wyttnesse WYLLYAM HUNTLEY, CHRISTOPHER HOKE, THOM BOWER, ROGER DOBYNS & others now present and my seale the xixth day of June yn the xxth yeare of the Reyne of our sov lord kyng henry the eyghtDetts that ys oweyng to meItem ... by ANTHONY KYNGSTON a c marksDetts that y do oweItem ... to HUMFREY HAMAN due at lamas next ensuying iiii £ and also other fower pounds at lamas come twelvemonthItem to MAT TORNER iii £By me Guydo Dobyns" (Original pages <will-p1.htm> and <will-p2.htm> have manuscript copy of will of GUYD DOBYNS)[Begin original page 7]The will printed in manuscript form on the previous two pages is written in the English language, and after careful study, the reader should find it possible to read the typescript of the will on page 4 with the manuscript copy of the will.CATHERINE DOBYNS, the second wife of GUYD DOBYNS, was probably living in 1557. At that time, on 17 Apr 1557, Mrs. KATHERINE DOBINS was recorded in the Newent Parish Register (fn 15 <ddcvfn.htm>) as being the Godmother of RANDALL DOBINS, son of WILLIAM DOBINS, Gent. In 1535, King Henry VIII declared himself "Supreme Head of the Church of England", thus beginning the Reformation in England. While the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church pleased many people, including Henry VIII who wanted his divorce, there were many people in England who clung to the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. It appears that GUYD DOBYNS was among those who remained Roman Catholic and was thus styled a Papist by the supporters of the Reformation.In 1535, Henry VIII appointed THOMAS CROMWELL as vicar-general of the Church of England. CROMWELL's job was to root out Papists, among other things. Adherence to the Roman Catholic Church had gone from a requirement of the law in 1533 to a violation of the law in 1535 and later. Freedom of religion was 250 years in the womb of time, and certainly was not to be allowed by THOMAS CROMWELL's men to GUYD DOBYNS. Nor for that matter did the Pope willingly allow CROMWELL's followers their freedom of religion. Thus one should not be surprised to find that, during this period of hard feelings, GUYD DOBYNS found himself in trouble with the self-appointed religious leaders of England. Copies of two letters exist accusing GUYD DOBYNS of refusing to obey a summons to appear before the CROMWELL-controlled Council. A summary of the first letter, (fn 16 <ddcvfn.htm>) dated 16 Mar 1537/8, follows: "Letter from Bishop Roland Lee to Thomas Cromwell. One GUY DOBYNS of Newent, being summoned before this Council with his son, refused to come. His son said that he would know the mind of Sir Ant. Poynes first. About a week after, the son killed the constable of Newent and the same day the father broke from the ward of the porter of this Council and fled. The day I was in Gloucester, he was following Mr. Anth. Kyngston, (NOTE that this name is mentioned in the will above.) riding through the town with his hounds, being a J.P. of the shire, 'neither regarding God, nor the King, nor any man there.' Dated Shrowisbury." A summary of the second letter, dated 19 Mar 1537/8, follows: (fn 17 <ddcvfn.htm>) "Letter from Thomas Havard to Thomas Smyth, attending on the King's Commissioners at Salop [i.e. Shropshire]. Asks him to notify the President of the Council in the Marches of Wales that GUY DOBYNE, since the president left Gloucester, has always continued at home in his house at Newente. When he goes out [NOTE that this is inconsistent with previous sentence] he is accompanied by light persons in riotous array. He says he would rather be hanged than come under the lord President's hands. On Saturday he is said to have bought lampreys and had them baked at Gloucester to be sent to London. Does not know whether he has ridden with them. [NOTE that in previous sentence he was said to have always continued at home, indicating an unreliable or hearsay account.] He has someone always watching about his house for dread of the King's messengers. If the Council wish to have him, it will be necessary to award out a proclamation against him. Dated Compton." [NOTE that Compton is a small village outside the town of Newent, and that the Dobyns family lived at Compton as well as at Newent.] In the shifting winds of the day, THOMAS CROMWELL lost favor with the king and was executed in 1540, primarily as a sop to the opponents of the methods used to Protestantize England. GUYD DOBYNS apparently rode out the shifting winds unharmed until his death in 1544.During the period of time that he was having trouble with CROMWELL, GUYD DOBYNS was attempting with little success to settle the estate of his mother ELLEN. (fn 18 <ddcvfn.htm>) His difficulties were probably due to the fact that he would have been arrested by the king's officers upon his appearance before the ecclesiastical court having jurisdiction over the estate. On 11 Feb 1536, letters of administration of the goods of ELEN DOBYNS, [Begin original page 8] deceased, late of Newent, were granted to GUYD DOBYNS, her natural (i.e. by birth, as opposed to a step-son, son-in-law, etc., used then in a sense that is now obsolete) and eldest son, to exhibit an inventory at the next court. On which day he was continued to the next court. Afterwards he was suspended and the case continued to 22 Jan 1538/9. He did not appear and was suspended, and on 4 Mar 1538/9 was excommunicated.