[1]                  This birth year was estimated because William Jr was a minor, probably less than eighteen, when his father's will was written in 1483.

[2]                  The will of William Sydnor Jr was found at Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Holder f.4.  See Appendix.

[3]                  This reference to “my parish church . . . in Exeter” was interesting, because William was living in London and expected to be buried there.  Perhaps a business or real estate venture provided by his son Richard who was an archdeacon there, perhaps an advantageous marriage arranged by that Richard had brought William to reside in Devon so far from Kent and London, and his presence in London at the time of his death was just a visit.

[4]                  In his will, William bequeathed the house in Exeter "afterward to my children, the which be lawfully begotten between the said Joan my wife and me."  Thus he and Joan had more than one child by their marriage.  Although it was not uncommon to refer to children as "lawfully begotten," the fact that he carefully noted Joan as his present wife in the bequest suggested that some of his other children were from a previous marriage or even marriages.

               Later in the same document, William referred to Thomas as "my son by Joan my wife."  Since William thus appeared to deliberately separate Thomas from his older siblings, it was probable that the older children were by a previous marriage.  Paul was younger than Thomas because he was the only one for whom provisions of wardship were made.  Also Paul was listed last in the order of the will.

               Unless Joan, his then-present wife, was from Exeter, it was curious that William would have bequeathed her the residence in Exeter, a place so far from Kent.

[5]                  Joanna and Johanna were the Latin forms of Jean, Jane, and Joan.  In this case, both William Sydnor's will and Joan's father's will gave the name as Joane.

[6]                  Joan’s age was estimated as slightly less than William.

[7]                  Joan was not shown in the probate of William's will for which she had been named executor along with William Jr's brother Richard.  It was possible that she shortly followed her husband in death. 

               No will for Joan was found, and that was surprising since she appeared to hold interests in property in several dioceses and since her husband  appeared to be trained in law.  Perhaps she remarried, perhaps she did not survive her husband long enough, or perhaps she disposed of her interests and relied on the goodwill of her children for her care.

[8]                  The modern street name has been simplified to North Street.  The expression, "sign of the crown," probably reflected the practice by owners of houses in towns and cities to use signs with pictures to distinguish their houses, since houses were unnumbered. 

[9]                  There were two widows with other surnames with given name Johane (thus Jean, Joan, or Jane) found in the rolls for St Petrock parish.  See Tudor Exeter Tax Assessments, 1489-1595, (Devon and Cornwall Record Society), v.22, pp.9-10.

[10]                 These lands inherited from his father have helped identify the descent of the family.  It was possible that William derived this Sydnor property from another branch of Sydnors.

[11]                 This was almost certainly Boughton Malherbe where he had inherited property from his father.

[12]                 See Kentish Visitations of Archbishop William Warham and his Deputies, 1511-1512, (Kent Archaeological Society, ed. K. L. Wood-Legh), v.24 (1984), pp.211-212. 

Because another diocese was involved, the chancellor* was obliged to refer the matter to the archbishop of Canterbury.

This was the strongest evidence that any Sydnor may have resided in Sussex.

[13]                 Freedom was the right to participate in the privileges attached to membership in (1) a company or trade or (2) citizenship in a town or city.  The word citizen [cives] which occurred in the charters of English cities became synonymous with freemen.  Admission of new citizens to the freedom occurred through apprenticeship in the guilds, by purchase, or by inheritance.  Beyond the general exemption from tolls throughout the country conferred by the city charters, freemen enjoyed an absolute monopoly of trade in certain articles and of retail trade in others.  They had a complete monopoly of retail selling, with little exception.  Guild members were freemen.  Only the freemen could vote. 

[14]                 See Exeter Freemen, 1266-1967, ed. Margery M. Rowe and Andrew M. Jackson, (Devon and Cornwall Record Society, Extra Series I, 1973), p.66. 

               It seems unusual that he chose to become a freeman* in Exeter at the age of forty-five.  From that purchase of freedom, one might surmise William had a particular financial reason or interest in the area which required that membership, perhaps as a result of an estate or financial opportunity derived from his brother's service with the diocese of Exeter.

[15]                 The reason for residence in London is not clear from the records; perhaps with a final illness, perhaps involved in law, or perhaps involved in some business venture.

[16]                 All these children were shown in his will.

[17]                 Richard was named the eldest son in his father's will and no provision was made for his minority.  This indicated that he was probably twenty-one years of age or more when the will was drafted in 1514.

[18]                 This lack of a will or testament for an eldest son would have been unusual, unless it were that Richard did not survive the probate of his father's will or that he had no immediate family and disposed of property before his death.

[19]                 Margaret was a beneficiary in the will of her brother William Sydnor Jr [E16].

[20]                 Roger was mentioned in the will of his wife's brother William Sydnor Jr [E16].  Roger also gave his wife's name as Margaret in his own will.  Roger was also mentioned in the wills of his mother and father. 

               The name of the nearby village called Southerden evolved from Swethrynden, with many spelling variants along the way. 

[21]                 A yeoman was a free tenant, usually a prominent farmer, a holder of a small landed estate, who worked with his hands and thereby who could not be termed a gentleman.  He was a freeholder under the rank of gentleman, hence a commoner or countryman of respectable standing, especially one who cultivated one's own land.

[22]                 The will of Roger Swethrynden was found at Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury, Probate Record 17, v.15, f.253v.  See Appendix. 

               The years of the date of the will and of probate in the copy were given as 1523.  The date when the will was made has been assumed to be in error, perhaps because of the proximity of the new year.  There were no further wills or genealogies to show clearly the further descent of this line.

               The family name was likely taken from the nearby parish of Surrenden in this section of Kent.

[23]                 The will of Henry Swethrynden was found at Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury, Probate Record 17, v.6, f.206.  See Appendix. 

[24]                 The will of Florence Swethrynden was found at Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury, Probate Record 17, v.6, f.205.  See Appendix.

[25]                 Three children were named in the wills.  Margaret's brother William Sydnor Jr [E16] noted in his will of 1515 that his sister had four children and in his will gave ten shillings* to each.  More Swetherynden information?

[26]                 Richard was shown as eight years old when his father's will was written.

[27]                 Katherine was mentioned in her father's will.

[28]                 Margaret was mentioned in her father's will.

[29]                 This child was not mentioned in its father's will, but William Sydnor Jr [E16] mentioned four children for his sister Margaret in his will..

[30]                 This date was estimated from his age at the time his father's will was written.

[31]             These possible children were both of Otham, which suggested probably a common father.  In addition both not only used the same priest but   William Sr could have used his share of inheritance to start his adult endeavors in the Leeds and Otham parishes. 

               Another possibility for placing these children was Stephen Sydnor [E5] who was from Leeds may have had an undiscovered son who was responsible for these children.  Otham is next to Leeds and close to Egerton, sites of other Sydnors.

[32]                 The common first name with his possible father was a factor in his listing here.  It was possible that William Jr was a son of another Sydnor, but it was very probable that he was the brother of Walter [E49].

[33]             The will of William Sydnor Jr was found at Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury, Probate Records 17, v.36, f.15.  See Appendix.

[34]                 If this William Sydnor Jr had a wife or children, they probably had predeceased him.  None were mentioned in his will.

[35]                 Yeoman was a free tenant, usually a prominent farmer who worked with his hands and thereby who could not be termed a gentleman*; a freeholder under the rank of gentleman*, hence a commoner or countryman of respectable standing, especially one who cultivated one's own land.

[36]                 The relationship of William and his brother Walter with Richard Cally was not found.  Check Cally information.

[37]                 The Hendley surname appeared again when a Elizabeth Hendley married George Fane who was the executor of the will for Paul Sydnor [E43].  Check Hendley information.

[38]                 The £6 given to Alice in his will was a significant sum in its day, however the relationship was not found.  Check Alice Savage alias Dyer information.

[39]                 The obligation by William to the Boycotts was not found.  Check Boycott information.

[40]                 Walter was only linked with this possible father because it was very probable that he was the brother of William Jr [E48] who in turn had some claim to this paternity.