Yeo family tree at http://www.tribalpages.com/tribes?userid=yeogedcom&x=10&y=8 and see www.yeosociety.com 1871 - 3 Henry Street, Jarrow 1881 - 14 Albert Road, Jarrow
Nicholas' s eldest son and heir, John , known as John Yeo of Hatherleigh , was born in 1499 and married Anne Honeychurch , by whom he had with other issue three sons, Robert Yeo, of Hatherleigh, William Yeo , and Leonard Yeo , of North Petherwin . John and Ann acquired properties in Hatherleigh , namely Littlewood, Kerswell & Reed . It was the time of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monastries, when he took the lands from the church to finance his wars and exploration. The tenancy of the lands were then sold to bring in revenue. On the 31 st July, 1536 there was a bargain & sale by Richard Rede of Hatherleigh, son and Heir of Thomas Rede deceased, to John Yeo of Hatherleigh, gentleman, of all his messuages, lands etc., in Hatherleigh and Sheepwash, by Thomas Yeo , gentleman and Edmund Stowell , attorneys. Thomas Yeo was the son of Edmond Yeo , John 's uncle and on the 15 th August, the same year there was regrant by John Yeo to Richard Rede and Elizabeth his wife of the above property to hold to them and the heirs of their bodies by rendering yearly a grain of wheat, if demanded, with reversion to John , who may re-enter should they dispose of the premises, William Whyte and Hugh Huchen appointed attorneys. In 1551 a grant by the King to Edward Fynes , Lord Clinton of a farm called Bremridge wood lately held by John Yeo for 20s by lease from Tavistock Abbey and a farm called Littlewoode and Remden with a rent of 38s 8d. In 1587, just before he died, trouble brewed over the Reed estates. John sued for a writ of subpoena against William Hooper of Hatherleigh, who about six years past forcibly expelled him from a parcel of land in Hatherleigh, being part of lands and Tenements which he had bought from John Reade of Hatherleigh, by indenture of 1 st December, 1579 and William Hooper answers that John Hooper, his father was seised of the parcel of land in question, and not the said John Reade and a commission dated 10 th February, 1587 was formed to examine the defendant.
John Yeo (1392) and Alice Jeue Robert's son married the heiress Joan Pyne and their son John married Alice Jeue , a wealthy joint heiress. The Jewe family held many manors in Devon, Somerset & Dorset, which included the manors of Cotleigh, Chesewaye Spelcomb, Collebeare, Cliffe, Holcombe Jeu, Poltimore, Northcote and lands in Exeter, Colyford, Seaton and Plymouth . Alice 's sister married Edward St John and their only daughter married into the Arundel family so the inherited estates from the Jeue family were shared between the Yeos and Arundells for many years and made the Yeo family desirable marriage partners. William 's main residence was at Cotleigh , which adjoins the Bonville estate of Shute . William Jeue was a friend of the Courtenays and Bonvilles and in Richard Courtenay 's inquisition post mortem in 1415, it is recorded that Richard granted by charter properties in Cadbury, Devon , i.e. in 1411 he gave them to William Jew esquire, to hold for life without rent, with reversion to himself. At the same time he granted William Jew for his good service a rent of £3. 13s 4d payable by equal parts at the 4 terms, from the manor of Honiton for life, with licence to distrain if in arrears by 15 days and in 1422 when Hugh Courtenay , the 4 th Earl of Devon died, he left letters patent, granting the manor of Whitewell , with all appurtenances to William Jeue for life with reversion to Thomas , his son and heir who was then a minor. William Jeue is mentioned as being on William Bonville 's side during the quarrels he was having with the Brook family over his estates and was witness to many of Bonville's legal transactions, so it is possible he was a lawyer. In 1412, John Yeo was retained to sail with Thomas the Duke of Clarence on the expedition to France and was there to abide in the king's service, but he feared that there would be ‘disherison by subornation' by John Pyne , a relative of his wife in his absence so appealed to the Commissioners of the Peace to protect his interests and in 1434 he is named in the list of Devon Magnates, amongst the seventy seven people who took the oath to protect the county. John's name appears on many inquisitions during his life so he was obviously a leading member of the county's officials.
Nicholas Yeo , the second son of William Yeo and Ellen Grenville , was also involved in local politics as his name appears on many Devon Inquisitions Post Mortems, because of his role as an escheator. This position, just one in a county, meant that upon learning the death of a tenant, the escheator would hold an "inquisition" to learn if the king had any rights to the land. If there was any doubt, the escheator would seize the land and refer the case to Westminster where it would be settled, ensuring that not one day's revenue would be lost. This would be a source of concern with land owners when there were delays from Westminster. Nicholas married a Ms Loveis, and had a son, John Yeo and by his second wife Joan Lybbe, a son called Leonard . Both children were born in Tavistoke. His second son, Leonard , seems to have prospered more than John , as he was a merchant and mercer in London and married the wealthy widow of his employer, John Broke . Leonard had control of her children's estates and made a considerable amount of money. He became Mayor of Totnes and purchased the manor of Huish from the Arundel descendants and through his children marrying well, the family progressed in status, eventually dying out with Edward Rooe Yeo, MP for Coventry.
See http://www.yeosociety.com/yeoroots/early%20origins.htm#willellen for extensive biography William was elected as one of the County's Commissioners of the Peace from at least 1470 until he died in 1481. These commissioners were elected to provide law and order in the county. Serving with him in 1470 was George , Duke of Clarence , Richard , Earl of Warwick and Salisbury , Sir Hugh Courtenay , Sir William Courtenay , Sir Thomas Fulford , Philip Courtenay , Halnath Manleverer , John Halwell , Richard Chichester , Richard Hals , John Gybbis , John Denys , William Huddesfield and William Shillingford . Justices of the Peace were "good and lawful men" who were appointed in every county in the land to "guard the Peace". JPs also administered the country at a local level. They fixed wages, built and controlled roads and bridges, and undertook to provide and supervise locally those services thought by the King and by Parliament to be necessary for the welfare of the country. William was mentioned in several feoffments after his marriage. A Feoffment is where the owner would normally convey the land to a group of co-feoffees thus ensuring the land would not fall to the king or unlawful heirs through the death of the feoffee. The feoffees in turn would pass the land on to others before the last one of them died and so it would continually change hands through conveyance without ever passing descent. The feoffees had to be trusted friends, and William and Sir Thomas Fulford were two of the feoffees for John Speke in 1473 and in 1479 William & Otho Gilbert , the father of his nephew, Thomas Grenville 's wife, were feoffees for Joan Keynys , the widow of John Keynes. His Inquisition Post Mortem when he died on 24 th July 1481 names his son Robert Yeo aged 26 as his heir. William and Ellen had two daughter and five sons. The eldest son Robert married Alice Walrond and the second son, Nicholas Yeo married a Ms Loveis of Tavistoke , from both of whom our ancestors descend, through the marriage of John Yeo of Hatherleigh to Rebecca Rolle, daughter of Henry Rolle and Margaret Yeo, the heiress, through whom the estates passed into the Rolle family.