Key Facts

Snapshot:	lived in 15th-century Kent, England
Parents:	262702Thomas at Towne 262703Joan Cheyne
Born:	unknown
Died:	sometime after 18 November 1473 presumably Kent, England
Buried:	unknown

Note: I'd like to extend special thanks to researcher Jared Nathan for sharing his work pertaining to 131351Elizabeth.

131351Elizabeth at Towne's father is 262702Thomas at Towne, as proven by a 1440 court record (illustrated below1) and affirmed by the 1574 heraldic visitation of Kent.2 Her mother is 262703Joan Cheyne.*

"Elizabeth, Benedicta wife of William, & Alianora, daughters of the aforesaid Thomas" (translated) mentioned in an Easter 1440 lawsuit. Full page.1

She had married 131350William Sondes by 1440,1 as described in his profile.

She's mentioned in her husband's will, dated 18 November 1473. She surely outlived him, although his will is the last record I've found of her.3

"Elizabet͞h u͞x meae"—131351Elizabeth my wife—mentioned in her husband's will. Full page.3

131350William requested to be buried in St. Michael & All Angels church in Throwley, Kent, so it's plausible that 131351Elizabeth may be buried there, too, although I have no proof.

Footnote:

*

To be clear, no record explicitly identifies 131351Elizabeth's mother. Nathan W. Murphy has prepared an article, "The Parentage of Joan, Wife of Thomas Town (d. 1422-1424)," that presents evidence that 262703Joan Cheyne's parents are 525406William Cheyne and 525407Eleanor Salerne. Among other evidence, Murphy tracks the inheritance of certain properties over multiple generations, including both 131351Elizabeth's descendants and (proposed) ancestors. Murphy's argument is frankly too complex and lengthy to present in full here, so I refer you to the original article. As of this writing (in May 2022), the article hasn't been published, but hopefully it will be published later.

Sources Cited:

1: UK National Archives CP 40/717 (Court of Common Pleas / Plea Rolls / Chief Justice's roll, 18 Hen VI, Easter term), on an apparently unnumbered page pertaining to a lawsuit involving William Sonde et al. vs. John Ruton et al. I obtained an image of this record from: Anglo-American Legal Tradition, O'Quinn Law Library, University of Houston; <http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no717/bCP40no717dorses/IMG_1261.htm>, accessed 29 March 2022. You can see AALT's index entry for this record at <http://aalt.law.uh.edu/Indices/CP40Indices/CP40no717/CP40no717Pl.htm> by searching "1262." As you can see, the original record is in Latin, so refer to the abstract in: George Wrottesley, Pedigrees from the Plea Rolls: Collected from the Pleadings in the Various Courts of Law, A.D. 1200 to 1500, from the Original Rolls in the Public Record Office, page 371.

2: W. Bruce Bannerman, ed., The Visitations of Kent, Taken in the Years 1530-1 and 1574, Part 2 (Publications of the Harleian Society, volume 75, London, 1924), page 33.

3: Kent History and Library Centre archive reference CCA-DCb/PRC/32/2/275b (Canterbury Cathedral Archives / Diocese of Canterbury / Probate Court Records / Consistory Court Registers of Wills / Registers of Wills, 1459-1484), the will of William Sondds of Throwley, dated 1473. FamilySearch (FHL microfilm 188833 volume 2, images 420 and 421 of 796). FamilySearch restricts access to these images, so see copies here: 420, 421. You can read an English-language abstract in: Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Testamenta Vetusta: Being Illustrations from Wills, of Manners, Customs, &c. as well as of the Descents and Possessions of Many Distinguished Families from the Reign of Henry the Second to the Accession of Queen Elizabeth, Volume I (Nichols and Son, London, 1826), pages 332-334.