Walter Yonge (died 1649)


Walter Yonge of Great House in the parish of Colyton in Devon, England, was a lawyer, merchant and diarist.

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of John II Yonge of Colyton by his wife Alice Stere. His grandfather was John I Yonge
of Axminster, Devon with John Young His great-grandfather was Walter I Yonge & Henry VIII ) of Bossington, Berkshire, who having been the first of his family to settle in Devonshire purchased several estates in that county, including:
Yonge was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, and was called to the bar from Middle Temple. In 1628 he was Sheriff of Devon. As a merchant he invested in the Dorchester Company, a joint-stock company promoting fishing and colonisation in New England. He was a Member of Parliament for Honiton, Devon, in the Long Parliament from 1640, but did not sit after Pride's Purge in December 1648. From 1642 to 1648 he was one of the victuallers of the Navy.

Marriage and children

Yonge married Jane Periam, a daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Peryam of Exeter, Devon, MP four times and Mayor of Exeter, by his wife Elizabeth Hone, a daughter and co-heir of Robert Hone of Ottery. Jane's uncle was Sir William Peryam of Little Fulford, near Crediton in Devon, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. By his wife he had two sons and one daughter as follows:
Yonge is now best remembered as an author: his well-known diaries are valuable historical material, especially four volumes now in the British Museum. These were published in Britain in the 19th century by the Camden Society. Full text on-line at archive.org .