Sir John Hody (say 1395 – 1441-12) was my double 16th-great-grandfather and a lawyer, Member of Parliament, and jurist who held the position of Chief Justice of the King’s Bench for all of England from 1440-04-13 till his death. His legal acumen was held in esteem even centuries later. He married Elizabeth Jewe, and their daughter and my ancestor Joan/Joanna Hody married Sir Nicholas Latimer.

John fell violently ill while away from home. Realizing he may not survive, he composed a will dated 1441-12-17. He died before the end of the month.

Career

John served in Parliament several times, representing Shaftesbury starting in 1421, and also County Somerset. He also served as an occasional advisor to Henry VI.

On 1440-04-13, he succeeded Sir John Juyn (✝1440-03-24) as Chief Justice. He was knighted probably at the same time or soon after. After his death, he was succeeded by Sir John Fortescue.

In Edward Coke’s (1552–1634) Institutes, John is listed among the “famous and expert sages of the law”.⁠^⟮2⟯ A biography says he was “stated by Prince [John Prince, 1643–1723] to have won golden opinions by his integrity and firmness in the administration of justice.”⁠^⟮3⟯

He is buried near his uncle at the newly built Church of St Mary, Woolavington in Somerset, as requested in his will.

See his linked biography below for a more detailed account of his career.

Family

John’s wife Elizabeth’s siblings all died without issue, making her the sole heir to her father’s estate, which thus devolved to the Hodys.

John’s will lists four sons John, William, Thomas, and Alexander; a daughter Joanna (my ancestor); and unmarried daughters not named, but believed to be Mary and Margaret.⁠^⟮4⟯ His son William went on to become Attorney General of England and Chief Baron of the Exchequer. John’s father Thomas Hody outlived him by a few months.

John’s widow was pregnant with another son when John died. She remarried to Robert Cappes.

Ancestry

The Hody family is documented in Devon for centuries back, but only sparsely, and John’s Hody descent has not been traced beyond his grandfather Adam Hody. However, Adam’s wife Isabel Gilbert can be traced through Hugh le Waleis back to Jocelyn de Welles the Fleming, John’s 11th-great-grandfather, who was born around 1030.⁠^⟮6⟯

See

• WikiTree page, which has good information.
• History of Parliament biography online.
• Two entries:
  • Find a Grave memorial
  • Find a Grave memorial

Footnotes

1. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/118998157/john-hody#view-photo=127991879
2. ↑ https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_the-first-part-of-the-in_coke-sir-edward_1670_0/page/n5
3. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_judges_of_England_from_the_time_of_t/ej0BAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA330
4. ↑ https://archive.org/details/collectaneatopo01nichgoog/page/n34
5. ↑ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hody_(of_Stowell)_Arms.png
6. ↑ https://archive.org/details/historywellesfa00wellgoog/page/n80