Talk:Thomas Holcroft (politician)

Gerard relationship

"Margaret, married James Gerard of Ince, also a younger son but whose brother of Sir Gilbert Gerard became a very powerful figure in the Elizabethan legal establishment and political circles; the Gerards were important contacts for the Holcrofts." I just found this, which does not seem to make sense as it stands. The History of Parliament article on Gilbert Gerard makes clear he was Thomas Holcroft's nephew: it actually says Holcroft was Gerared's uncle. The one on Holcroft makes them cousins. This is not a contradiction: "cousin" was a very vague term in the 16th century and often covered nephews, people related tenuously by marriage and all sorts of cases that we would not stretch it to. James Gerard and Margaret Holcroft were Gilbert Gerard's parents. The chronology alone makes clear that Gilbert Gerard must belong to the generation after Thomas Holcroft, as he flourished in the reign of Elizabeth I and died in 1593, admittedly as a fairly old man: he certainly looks it on his tomb, which I photographed for wikipedia some years ago by arrangement with the very kind vicar. I propose to make the relationship clear again, so long as no-one finds evidence to the contrary. Sjwells53 (talk) 09:32, 20 June 2015 (UTC)