Top Who was “Alexander Standish, gent” in early 1655?
I immediately and fully realised that all hinged on proving that “Alexander Standish gent” was indeed Myles's son. Later, back home and in calm, I checked all names and lands against other relevant documents and by process of elimination established beyond all doubt that the only one with this name and status definitely living in this year and with any possible claim to these Duxbury based estates was Myles's son and heir. The lands claimed were those belonging to the family at Duxbury Hall from the end of the 15th century (starting with the inquisition post mortem of Sir Christopher in 1496) until towards the end of the 16th century and did not include those acquired by marriage or purchase since the later date, nor those legitimately bequeathed to various daughters and sons-in-law by Alexander Standish (1570/1-1622). (The full text of his inquisition post mortem 1623 appears under this date in his biography on this web site. Later rather than sooner a full analysis of all lands ever owned by the Standishes of Duxbury until the mid-17th century will appear here as a link. A list of relevant documents appears under the title “Standish of Duxbury Wills, Admons and Inquisitions post mortem until the late 17th century”, with most, but not all, in the Lancashire Record Office.)
Someone had certainly done their homework in the family papers before the court case in 1655 and the obvious person was Edward May. The fact that he represented Alexander, who was apparently not present in person, is also significant. Any local Alexander would have been obliged to turn up in person if bringing a lawsuit against such a local bigwig as Richard and, if successful, the fine would have been awarded directly to him and not to his lawyer. This court case was also unique in the Standish of Duxbury Muniments. Up to this date there had never been any dispute between members of the family that ended up in court.
The only possible local “Alexander gent” candidate in 1655 could be excluded for several reasons, the most important being that he was almost certainly dead. (The only two other Alexanders of Duxbury Hall in the early 17th century had died in 1622 and 1647 and were consistently called “Esquire”.) His ‘full’ biography and those of his brothers and nephews will be told asap. Meanwhile, a summary. He was born in 1604 as the youngest (and fourth surviving) son of Alexander Standish Esquire (1570/1-1622). By 1642 he was the only one left. His oldest brother Thomas the M.P. died in 1642, his next brother Captain Ralph had died in 1637 and the next one Richard already in 1628. He had no sons but at the outbreak of war had two adult nephews, sons of Thomas the M.P.: Captain Thomas (killed at the Siege of Manchester in 1642) and Colonel Alexander (who was to die in early 1647). There seems no doubt that he had fought on the Royalist side under the Earl of Derby during the early stages of the Civil War along with his two nephews. In 1644 his first wife died (burial in Chorley Parish Register 10 April 1644 “vx. Alexandri Standish de Duxbury”) and he married a local Royalist Farington widow whose husband had been killed at Marston Moor (2 July 1644). The only other trace of him in Duxbury is when he baptised a daughter at Chorley 17 February 1646 “Ann, Alexri Standish Arr:”. Under normal circumstances, he would have become the heir of his nephew Colonel Alexander in 1647, to hold the Lordship of the Manor and estates until the rightful succession was established after his own death. But the circumstances were not normal and Colonel Alexander’s widow handed over all the estates to Colonel Richard. Alexander Sr did not put up any protest, but instead disappeared from the face of Duxbury earth, never to return. His only other possible fate than death between 1646 and 1655 was exile. He certainly did not return to Duxbury to be buried at Chorley, nor was his second wife buried there. (Chorley burial records seem to be remarkably complete during this period, judging from the numbers during the Civil War and the Commonwealth, and compared to numbers before and after.)