1. Sir John1 Horner was born in Yorkshire 1520. John died 24/09/1587 at 67 years of age.
He made a will 23/10/1571. John's will was probated 22/05/1588. Married to Elizabeth.
Sir John "Jack" Horner, b 1520 in Yorkshire County, England, is supposed to be the celebrated personage in the literature of the Nursery rhyme. The full history of his "witty tricks and pleasant pranks" is given in Halliwell's Rhymes of England. The popular story is that at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries (1536-1539), the Abbot of Glastonbury sent his steward, John Horner, to Henry VIII with the deeds of Mells Manor concealed in a pie. As Jack Horner traveled up to the town in the Abbot's wagon, he lifted the crust of the pie and stole the gift of the manor. When John returned he told the Abbot that the King had given him the gift. He was later found or suspected to have imposed upon the King. (Notes and Queries, LVI. 156) The plum in the rhyme was the deed of the Manor of Mells which is still possessed by his descendants. Records show, however, that Thomas Horner purchased the manor. John Leland in his "Itinerary" (1543) says "Mr. Horner hath boute the lordship of the King. " John Horner was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1584 and given a coat of arms. He raised a family of five sons whose names were Thomas, George, John, Edward, and Samuel.
Sir John Horner had the following child:
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2
i.
Thomas2 Horner.
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