Sir William Aton (died before March 1389), sometimes called Baron Aton, of

West Ayton West Ayton is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. Located upon the west bank of the River Derwent adjacent to East Ayton. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 UK census, West Ayton parish had a po ...

, Barlby, South Holme and North Holme, Welham, Langton, Wintringham, Malton and Knapton in

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 ...

, was an English landowner, soldier and administrator who in 1371 was summoned to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as a baron. His son died before him without children and any hereditary title lapsed.

Origins

Born about 1299, he was the son and heir of Sir Gilbert Aton, who died after 10 April 1350.

Career

About 1320, when he reached his majority, he was created a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

and it is assumed that he later participated in the wars of King

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

in France. In 1359, like his father before him, he was summoned to a meeting of the King's

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

and in 1370 was summoned to a session of

. By later theory this created a hereditary barony, but there is no record of him attending further sessions and he continued to call himself Sir William Aton, knight. He was chosen as

High Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere o ...

for 1368–70 and again for 1372–73, but in 1377, aged about 78, he obtained an exemption for the rest of his life from being appointed a sheriff, a justice of the peace, or a mayor. In 1386, recording his age as 87 and saying he had been a knight for 66 years (but not a baron), he was a witness in the celebrated case of

Scrope v Grosvenor ''Scrope v Grosvenor'' (1389) was an early lawsuit relating to the law of arms. One of the earliest heraldic cases brought in England, the case resulted from two different knights in King Richard II's service, Richard Scrope, 1st Baron Scrop ...

. He died before March 1389.

Family

Before 1327, he married Isabel Percy (died before 25 May 1368), daughter of

Henry Percy, 2nd Baron Percy Henry Percy, 9th Baron Percy of Topcliffe, 2nd Baron Percy of Alnwick (6 February 1301 – 26 February 1352) was the son of Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick, and Eleanor Fitzalan, daughter of Sir Richard FitzAlan, 8th Earl of Arundel, a ...

and his wife Idonea Clifford. Their children were: *Sir William Aton, who married Margaret but died before 21 June 1384 without children. His widow survived him. *Anastasia Aton, who married Sir Edward St John (died 7 March 1389), of

Londesborough Londesborough is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north of the market town of Market Weighton. The civil parish is formed by the village of Londesborough and the hamlet of Midd ...

. *Katherine Aton, who before November 1381 married Sir Ralph Euer (died 10 March 1422), of Witton-le-Wear. *Elizabeth Aton, married first Sir William Place and secondly Sir

John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. Conyers was the sixth-longest serving member of Congress and the lo ...

, of Sockburn (died before 6 March 1396).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aton, Sir William 1290s births 1388 deaths Barons Aton People from the East Riding of Yorkshire Members of the Privy Council of England Medieval English knights