Percival Levett (1560–1625) was an early

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

and

innkeeper Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, England,

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of the city, member of the

Eastland Company The Eastland Company, or North Sea Company, was an English Crown-chartered company, founded in 1579 to foster trade with Scandinavia and Baltic Sea states. Like the better-known Russia Company, this was an attempt by the English to challenge the ...

and father of English

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

Capt.

Christopher Levett Captain Christopher Levett (15 April 1586 – 1630) was an English writer, explorer and naval captain, born at York, England. He explored the coast of New England and secured a grant from the king to settle present-day Portland, Maine, the firs ...

. Levett was born in Harewood,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, and removed early to the city of York, where he was listed as a

freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

in 1581, and where he served the city as chamberlain and subsequently

in 1597. His daughter Ann married another York Sheriff, Christopher Topham (father of Member of Parliament

Christopher Topham Christopher Topham, member of Parliament for York (died 1670), was the son of York merchant and Sheriff for the city of York Christopher Topham and his wife Ann, a daughter of Percival Levett, merchant of York and also formerly a Sheriff for the ...

), and on his death married Dr. Joseph Micklethwaite. The ancestors of Percival Levett came from

Bolton Percy Bolton Percy is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 305 in 115 households, reducing marginally to 304 at the 2011 census. The village is about east of Tadca ...

, Yorkshire, and they shared a coat-of-arms with the Levetts of Normanton,

High Melton High Melton is a village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 339 in 2001, reducing to 300 at the 2011 Census. History In August 2019, 13 men and women fell ill after accidentally inges ...

and

Hooton Levitt Hooton Levitt (sometimes spelled Hooton Levett) is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England; one of four villages in the county that carry the name of Hooton, meaning 'farmstead on a spur of ...

, Yorkshire, indicating that a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the family probably relocated to

during medieval times. Levett was a contributor from York to the Queen's Loan in 1590. He was a member of the

, an English company established in the sixteenth century in an attempt to wrest

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

trade from the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. Percival Levett was buried at St. Martin's Micklegate in York on 13 February 1625. Levett had done well enough as a merchant to acquire the title of

gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

, a title he assuredly was born without, and sold his home in

Coppergate Coppergate is a street in the city centre of York, in England. The street runs north-east from the junction of Castlegate, Nessgate, King Street and Clifford Street, to end at the junction of Pavement, Piccadilly, Parliament Street, and Hig ...

, in central York, to Matthew Hutton, Archbishop of York. Levett's sons, aside from Capt. Christopher the explorer, also became merchants, including his son Percival, a merchant at

Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...

and York.The Publications of the Surtees Society, Wills & Administrations from the Knaresborough Court Rolls, Vol. II, Published for the Society by Andrews & Co., Durham, 1905
/ref> Percival Levett's brother Richard Levett was a long-serving

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levett, Percival 1560 births 1625 deaths Businesspeople from Yorkshire 16th-century English merchants People from York 17th-century English merchants 17th-century travelers 16th-century travelers Innkeepers

See also

References