The Clarke pedigree chart gives the following information about Christopher Clarke: “Christopher born at Morton May 18th 1722 married Ann daughter of John & Jane (Truby) Wood niece & coheiress of Sir John Oneby both of Hinchley Leicestershire.”
Sir John Oneby was a barrister who lived in Hinckley, Leicestershire. He was a “gentleman of the privy chamber” and was knighted in 1672. His first wife Mabell Ashby died soon after they were married in 1658. In 1665 he married Mercy Dudson. He died in 1676.
Jane Truby was Dame Mercy Oneby’s neice, her mother being Mercy Oneby’s sister (she had at least two other sisters, Elizabeth Gerard and Frances Dudson). This was a valuable connection for the Clarkes as the Oneby family were an old and respected Leicestershire family whose pedigree appeared in “The History and Antiquities of Leicester” by John Nichol and could be traced back to 1345. In 1680 Dame Mercy Oneby received a “confirmation of a grant of arms”, allowing the family to use the coat of arms as shown in “The History and Antiquities of Hinckley” by John Nichols.
Sir John and Dame Mercy Oneby didn’t have any children, so the Oneby residence (the old Priory at Hinckley) was passed down to her nephew Peter Gerard, son of Mercy’s sister Elizabeth. It is therefore likely that her niece Jane Wood also inherited some of her property, hence the “co-heiress” claim from the Clarke pedigree.
