Margaret Roper's legacy

Margaret More (1505-44) was the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) and his first wife Joanna Colt (1488-1511). Thomas More was a Humanist who believed in giving his children the best education he possibly could, educating girls the same as boys; a revolutionary idea for its time. Thomas More's children were taught, by himself as well as by tutors; Latin, Greek, Theology, Philosophy, Mathematics and Astronomy.

Thomas More

Margaret More was the first non-royal woman in England to have her work published; in October 1524 her translation from Latin of Erasmus' 'A devout treatise upon the paternoster' was published. The education of all of Thomas More's children was well known by the leading minds of the time, such as Juan Luis Vives, who had been the tutor to Princess Mary Tudor. Margaret More became a figure for admiration as she combined education with the tradition position of women as a wife and mother; Erasmus dedicated his commentary on 'Christmas Hymn' by Prudentius to Margaret in 1523 upon the birth of her first child; "will give the offspring of your marriage a happy outcome and be the true Apollo of all your reading, whose praises you will be able to sing to your lyre instead of nursery rhymes to please your little ones".

Margaret Roper, nee More

Margaret More married on the 2nd July 1521 to William Roper (1498-1578), and as Thomas More could not afford the £200 dower for Margaret, it was agreed that the couple would reside for free at Thomas More's house for five years and that the dowry would be paid at a later date.
William Roper wrote an extensive biography of his beloved father-in-law, Thomas More, however it was not published until 1626.
Margaret followed her father's example and educated her children to the highest standards she could, teaching them the classical languages of Latin and Greek. Margaret asked the scholar Roger Ascham to join her household as tutor to her children, however he could not be induced to leave his post at Cambridge University.

William Roper

The children of Margaret and William Roper were;
+ Elizabeth (1523-60) m1. John Stephenson
                                    m2. Edward Bray
                                      + Reginald m. Elizabeth Covert

+ Margaret (1526-78) m. William Dawtrey (d.1591)
                                     + William (1548-89) m. Dorothy Stoneley
                                     + John
                                     + Anthony
                                     + Jane m. Mr Parker
Margaret's son William became a lawyer and worked in the chambers of his grandfather William Roper, with his uncles Thomas and Anthony Roper.

+ Mary (1530-72) m1. Stephen Clarke (d.1554)
                              m2. James Bassett (1526-58)
                                + Philip (b.1557) m. Miss Verney
                                + Charles (1559-84)
It would appear that of all her children, it was Mary who inherited her mother Margaret's love and skill for education and translation. Mary served as a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber to Queen Mary I. Mary spoke Latin and Greek expertly; she translated the entirety of Eusebius' 'Ecclesiastical History' from Greek, which she dedicated to Queen Mary. In 1557 Mary's brother-in-law published 'The Workes of Thomas More' which included Mary's translation of her grandfather's final work 'Of the sorrowe of Christ before hys taking' which he wrote while imprisoned in the Tower. In 1554 the scholar Roger Ascham wrote to Mary offering his services as tutor to Mary, possibly as a way to make amends for his refusal years earlier to her mother Margaret. At that time Mary was being taught by two tutors; Henry Cole and John Christopherson (d.1558), who had been her childhood tutors and were still with her. John Morwen had been the Roper children's Greek tutor, but had left the household by 1554.
Mary's eldest son was named after King Philip who also stood as the baby's godfather and gave a gift at the christening. Philip Basset became a lawyer of Lincoln's Inn, like his grandfather, uncles and cousin. Charles was born after his father's death. He inherited the passion for his Catholic faith that his grandfather Thomas More had felt, and became a Jesuit.

+ Thomas (1533-98) m. Lucy Browne (d.1606)
                                   + William (1555-1628) m. Catherine Browne
                                   + Anthony
                                   + Henry
                                   + Francis
                                   + Charles
                                   + Thomas
                                   + Philip
                                   + Mary
                                   + Frances
                                   + Elizabeth m. Thomas Hadd
                                   + Martha m. Thomas Watton
                                   + Catherine m. Edward Bently
                                   + Mabel
                                   + Lucy
Thomas attended firstly Louvain University in 1547, then like his father William before him, Thomas was educated in law at Lincoln's Inn in 1552 and went on to become MP for New Shoreham (1553) and Newport (1558). As his father had been, Thomas became Chief Clerk of the King's Bench. Thomas' eldest son William was knighted in 1603.

+ Anthony (1544-97) m. Anne Cotton (d.1607)
                                    + Anthony
                                    + John
                                    + Henry (b.1577) m. Philippa Zouch
                                    + Isabel (d.1622) m. Thomas Wiseman
                                    + Jane
Like his father and elder brother, Anthony became a lawyer at Lincoln's Inn in 1565, and was a founder of The Roper Charity. Anthony's son Henry attended Cambridge University in 1595.

The legacy which Thomas More had begun with his own children, had been nurtured and continued by his beloved eldest daughter Margaret, who ensured the education of her own children, and in turn also her grandchildren.
                                 

The Caesars of Elizabethan London

The Caesar family of Elizabethan London can be seen as a shining example of the importance of education during this era. The medical education which Dr Guilio received in Italy was key to his immigration to England and led to his court career. As a result of this, he was able to ensure that his children also were highly educated and could forge out successful careers for themselves. They were an immigrant family who used education to gain connections and to integrate themselves into leading contemporary events which dominated English culture, such as expeditions to the New World.

Dr Guilio Caesar Adelmare, born in 1540 in Treviso, Italy, was a court physician under Queens Mary and Elizabeth Tudor. He came to England around 1550 and became naturalized as an English citizen in 1558. Guilio (Julius) was the son of Dr Pietro Maria Adelmare and Paola Caesarino - Paola was descended from the Dukes of Caesarino.
He and his wife Margery Peryent (d.1583) had several highly accomplished children together;
+ Julius Caesar, a judge, MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1558-1636)
+ Henry Caesar, Dean of Ely
+ Thomas Caesar, lawyer and MP (1561-1610)
+ Charles Caesar
+ Elizabeth Caesar, married Dr John Hunt
+ William Caesar, merchant in the Mediterranean
+ Anne Caesar, married Damian Peck, lawyer of Grey's Inn
+ Margaret Caesar, married Nicholas Wright, lawyer of Grey's Inn

Thomas Caesar married three times within four years;
1) Susanna Longe in January 1589, who then died in 1590
2) Anne Beeston (nee Lynne)
3) Susan Ryder on 18th January 1593, with whom he had eight children including Alice and Thomas. Susan was the daughter of Sir William Ryder, a haberdasher and the Lord Mayor of London.
Like his father before him, Thomas served the monarchy of England. Thomas was raised to the position of Clock Keeper to Prince Henry and in 1610 was made Cursitor Baron of the Exchequer and was knighted, however later that year Thomas died.

It is a result of Guilio's own experience of education at Padua University that his sons were also sent to university to gain Bachelor's and Masters degrees. His eldest son Julius was educated at Oxford University, and later as University of Paris, gaining four degrees within six years. Henry Caesar had studied at Cambridge University in his younger years, after which he was a Roman Catholic priest abroad, however he later on renounced his faith and became a Protestant preacher. Julius organised for his younger brother Henry to study at Oxford University in the 1590's, where he gained a BA, MA and Phd in Divinity. Julius was also responsible for promoting his brother William to the service of William Harborne in Turkey in September 1584. Julius and Thomas both being lawyers often consulted each other concerning cases as their focuses were different; Julius often asked for Thomas' help with cases concerning the law of property. Although family loyalty did not mean that Julius always found in favour of his brother's clients; Julius found in favour of his opponent on several noted occasions.

Julius Caesar, MP and Judge

In 1563 when the plague was rife in England, Dr Caesar wrote to William Cecil from Hatfield that in order to contain the spread of the disease, Italian practices should be employed. Possibly influenced by Caesar's ideas, on the 12th March 1564 Cecil issued a proclamation in Westminster, which was an area of particular concern as this is where the government convened and was therefore key to the spread of the disease, of plague orders.

After Dr Guilio Caesar died in 1569, his widow Margery married Michael Lok after 1571, when his first wife had died. It is possible that the couple had up to seven children together as in 1579 Lok states he has fifteen children, and he had at least eight with his first wife. Lok was a merchant and traveller, having been captain of a ship which traded in the Levant, as well as the governor of the Cathay Company, founded in 1577, who funded the explorations of Martin Frobisher. It is this family connection which meant that in 1577 when Lok was finding sponsors and funding for Frobisher's exploration of Cathay, four of Lok's Caesar step-children each gave £25; Julius, Thomas, Charles and Elizabeth. Lok and his own children all gave money towards the expedition too; Lok himself invested £900, whilst seven of his sons each gave £25; Matthew, Henry, Michael, Zachary, Eleazer, Gerson and Benjamin. The expedition was not financed solely by fellow merchants, it also included payments from many prominent court figures; Dr John Dee, Robert Dudley, Francis Walsingham, William Cecil and Queen Elizabeth, to name a few.