Events
Date of Birth: unknown.
Place of Birth: unknown.
Date of Burial: 20 December 1576.
Place of Burial: Sheldwich, Kent.
Relationships
Father: uncertain.
Mother: uncertain.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Gabriel Giles. Married 27 November 1564 in Sheldwich, Kent.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Elizabeth Giles (baptized 2 September 1565 in Sheldwich) married Thomas Fogge 28 December 1589 in Sheldwich.
Robert Giles (baptized 26 January 1566/7 in Sheldwich- buried 6 June 1623 in Sheldwich) married Alice Tylman 23 February 1592 in Selling, Kent.
Dorothy Giles (baptized 9 May 1568 in Sheldwich) married (1) William Richards 28 May 1593 in Goodnestone, Kent; married (2) Francis Giles 8 January 1600/1 in Sheldwich.
Michael Giles (baptized 23 October 1569 in Sheldwich - died 31 May 1611) married Elizabeth Belke 16 June 1603 in Sheldwich.
Thomas Giles the elder (baptized 15 January 1570 in Sheldwich)
Anthony Giles (baptized 2 January 1572 in Sheldwich)
Agnes Giles (baptized 5 April 1574 in Sheldwich) married Sampson Pierce 5 May 1600 in Sheldwich.
John Giles (baptized 26 January 1575/6 in Shedwich - buried 9 February 1597 in Sheldwich)
Mary Giles (baptized 26 January 1575/6 in Sheldwich - buried 29 January 1575/6 in Sheldwich)
Evidence
from a copy of the Sheldwich register:
1564
Gabriell Gyles gent: and Susan Austen weare maried the 27 of Nov:
1576
Susan the wife of Gabriell Gyles gent was buried the 20 of December:
The 1576 will of Lewes Awsten of Faversham:
In the name of god amen The [blank] of September [erased] In the yeare of our Lorde god one Thousand Fiue hundred Seuentye Sixe & In the Eyghteenth year of the Raygne of our Soueraigne Ladye Elyzabethe by the grace of god Queen of Ingland France & Ireland defender of the faythe &c I Lewse Awsten of the Towne & lyberte of Feuershame In the Countye of Kent Sayler being sicke of bodye but whole of mynde & of good & p[er]fect memorye (thanks be geue[n] to Allmyghte god) doe make this my p[re]sent testament in maner & forme followinge Fyrst I will & bequeathe my soul into the hands of the Eternall Trynitye, & my bodye to the Erthe wherof it ws formed In suer & certayn hope of resurrection to eternall lyfe thoroghe Jesus Christ my lord & sauyeur. Itm I will That my hoye called the Elepha[n]t of Feuersham be solde & twenty pounds of the monye therof cominge I giue my sun Lews Auste[n] meaning that he bee bestowed with some honest man for years & hee his sayd master to receau the mony & to haue the use of it duringe the tyme of his apprntishipe putting in sufficie[n]t bonde to my Executrix or ouerseer. that hee repaye it my sonne Lewse whe[n] his years shalbee expyred. And yf it shall fortune my sayde sun to dye before his appre[n]tiship acco[m]plyshed or hee attayne to the years of xxj the[n] the sayde mony to bee repayed to my wyfe Agnes and shee to haue the use of it duryng her naturall lyfe which ended I will fyfteen pownds therof equally to bee deuyded amonge my three daughters Margaret Susan & Jone. & yf it fortune any of my said daughters to dye before they bee maryed or attayne to age of xxj years then I will her portion to bee deuyded amonge the sup[er]uyuors. The other fiue pounds I will to be distributed [...] to my sister Wads chyldre[n] xls. To harry peeke xxs & to Jhon peeke xls. Itm I will my littel Locke to bee solde with her furniture & with the mony therof co[m]inge I will my wyfe to pay my debts Itm I geue to my daughter margaret one payer of the best sheets ij payer of Woorse sheets ij pewter platters the great flaggon viij pewter trenchers one frute dyshe one pewter dishe one chest. Itm I geue to my daughter Susan one payer of the best sheets ij payer of Woorse sheets ij pewter platters. i. pewter dishe 7 . pewter tre[n]chers one frute dishe one chest. Itm I geue to Abell peeke ether my best black breeches or my russe Jerkin Itm to harry Edwards my best Jerken. Itm I geue all my other mouables not bequethed to Agnes my wyffe whome I make executrixe of this my will & Testam’
This is the last will & testame[n]t of mee the sayd Lewse Awsten made the daye & yeare Fyrst aboue wrytte[n]. concerninge all my lands & teneme[n]ts situat, lying & beinge within the sayd town & lybertye of Feuersham First I will & bequethe to Agnes my wyffe the howse taht I now dwell in to her & her heyers for euer Itm I geue to my sayd wyffe the use & occupation of my house wherin cleme[n]t houts late dwellt, durynge her lyffe & after her decease I will it to my sayd iij daughters Margaret Susan & Jone amonge the[m] equally to bee deuyded & yf it shall fortune any one or twoe of my sayd daughters to dye without Issue of her bodye lawfully begotte[n] I will her parte or parts to remayne to the sup[er]uyuer or sup[er]uiuers but yf it shall fortune all my sayd daughters to dye without heyers of her bodyes lawfully begotte[n] the[n] I will it to my sone lewes. Witnes at the making heerof Marke X Elfrythe. Hyr
scripti p[ro]pria manu
[Proved 13 October 1576]
The 1590 will of Anne Awsten of Faversham:
In the name of god amen the Firste daye of marche in the xxxiijth yere of the Rayne of our sou[er]ayne Ladye Elisabeth by the grace of god of englonde France & Irelonde quene defender of the Faythe &c I Anne Awsten of the towne & libertye of Feu[er]sham in the countye of Kente widdowe Althoughe sicke of bodye yet of p[er]fecte memorye laude & prayse be geven unto almyghte god make & ordeyne this my laste will & testament in man[er] & forme followinge firste I will & bequeathe my soule into the handes of almighty god my maker & unto Jesus Xriste my Redem[er] by whose precyous bloude sheddinge I [...] to be saued & my bodye to be buryed at the discretyon of myne executor Jho’ Fisher I will & geve unto John Mitchell & Johane his wyfe all my moveable goods & chattells whatsoeu[er] I haue in the sayd towne of Feu[er]sha[m] or els where Also I will & give unto Tho’ Newton thelder & Tho’ newton the younger fyve shilllings a pece of good mony to be payed unto ether of the[m] at there sev[er]all ages of xviij yeres & yf ether the[m] dye the[n] one to haue the others vs/ yf bothe of the[m] dye then the xs to remayne unto my sayd sone in Lawe John Mitchell whoe I make sole executor of this my laste will & testamt Dated the dye & yere abovwritte[n] 1590
This ys also the laste will & testamt of me the said Ane made the dye & yere Abouvesyd [...] my messwage wher I nowe dwell & the close thereto belonging I will & give the same messwage or [...] with the backsyd thereto belonging unto my sone Lewes Awste[n] & to his Assignes for eu[er] In witnes wherof to these p[re]se[n]ts I haue sett my hande the dye & yere Abovewritte[n]
Anne [Y] Awsten her mke/
deliu[er]ed before us
Richard Maycott
Rychard Cam[...]
Commentary
Susan’s parentage:
In his will dated September 1576, Lewes Awsten of Faversham named his daughter Susan. Faversham is not far from Sheldwich, where Susan was married, and I have not come across any other references to a plausible candidate for the Susan of this page. However, the Susan of this page would have been baptized before the start of most surviving registers, so the absence in the records of Susans other than the one mentioned in Lewes’s will is not strong negative evidence.
Lewes’s widow Anne left a 1590 will in which she did not mention Susan. Two children mentioned in both Lewes’s and Anne’s wills married much later than the Susan of this page, in 1581 in Faversham and 1593 in Canterbury.
Lewes may have had another earlier marriage to someone named Margaret, as the Faversham register records the baptism of a Henry, son of Lewes and Margaret Austen, in 1563.
References
A copy of the register book of Shelwich, Kent. Digital images on Findmypast.co.uk, accessed 25 May 2025. The copy appears to have been made in modern times.
Will of Anne Awsten of Faversham. Proved 1590 in the Archdeaconry Court of Kent. Digital images on FamilySearch.org accessed 26 March 2025.
Will of Gabriel Giles of Shedwich, gentleman. Proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury. Digital images on FamilySearch.org.
Will of Lewse Awsten of Faversham. Proved 1576 in the Archdeaconry Court of Kent. Digital images on FamilySearch.org accessed 26 March 2025.