Editing John Speed (section)

== Family and early life ==
According to his daughter Sarah Blackmore, John Speed was born in the [[Cheshire]] village of [[Farndon, Cheshire|Farndon]]<ref name=Fuller>'John Speed', in T. Fuller, ''The History of the Worthies of England'' (J.G., W.L. and W.G., London 1662), [https://archive.org/details/historyofworthie00full/page/n183/mode/2up?view=theater p. 184] (Internet Archive).</ref> in c. 1551/52.<ref name=datest>Date calculated from Memorial Inscription formerly in St Giles, Cripplegate.</ref> Various families of Speed dwelt in that neighbourhood, but John's relation to them is not precisely established.<ref name=olddnb /><ref>{{cite journal |first=A.N. |last=Palmer |title=The Town of Holt, in County Denbigh |journal=Archaeologia Cambrensis |year=1907 |series=6th ser. |volume=7 |pages=389–434 (425) |url=https://journals.library.wales/view/4718179/4721321/480#?xywh=-2898%2C-185%2C7734%2C3464 }}</ref> His father John Speed gained the freedom of the [[Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors|Company of Merchant Taylors of London]] in April 1556,<ref>C. M. Clode, ''The Early History of the Guild of Merchant Taylors of the Fraternity of St John the Baptist, London'', 2 vols (Harrison and Sons, London 1888), II: The Lives, [https://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofgu02clod/page/332/mode/2up?view=theater p. 332] (Internet Archive).</ref> and is supposed to be the same John Speed who married Elizabeth Cheynye at [[Christ Church Greyfriars|Christchurch, Newgate Street]] in the City of London in January 1555/56.<ref name=Chester>J.L. Chester, ed. J. Foster, ''London Marriage Licences 1521-1869'' (Bernard Quaritch, London 1887), [https://archive.org/details/londonmarriageli00fost/page/n661/mode/2up?view=theater Col. 1265] (Internet Archive).</ref> From this it is inferred that Speed's birth-mother died during his infancy.

[[File:Portrait Sir Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke circa 1620.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Sir Fulke Greville]]
By his own account, Speed followed in his father's mercantile business in [[London]],<ref>"Life of John Speed", in W. West, ''The history, topography and directory of Warwickshire'' (R. Wrightson, Birmingham 1830), [https://archive.org/details/b28408111/page/36/mode/2up?view=theater pp. 36–37] (Google).</ref><ref name=ODNB /> and in 1580 he obtained the freedom of the Merchant Taylors' Company by patrimony.<ref name=Clode>'The loving brother of the Mystery, John Speed', in Clode, ''Early History of the Merchant Taylors'', II, [https://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofgu02clod/page/332/mode/2up?view=theater at pp. 332-35] (Internet Archive).</ref> He had married Susanna (born c. 1557/58),<ref name=datest /> daughter of Thomas Draper of London, in 1571 or 1572,<ref>1572 in [https://archive.org/details/miscellaneagenea2189howa/page/n67/mode/2up?view=theater Greenfield's pedigree of Speed]: variant sources give 1575. Susanna died in 1628 after 57 years of marriage to John, according to her M.I.</ref> and began to raise a family.<ref name="Taylor">A. Taylor, "[https://specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=13179 A Theatre of Treasures]", [[Cambridge University Library]] Special Collections, 11 October 2016.</ref> Most sources state that they had twelve sons and six daughters, of whom the most famous to reach maturity was John Speed, [[Doctor of Medicine|M.D.]], who studied at [[Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood|Merchant Taylors' School, London]] and [[St John's College, Oxford]].<ref name="Hibernian" /><ref name=pedigree>B.W. Greenfield, 'Pedigree of Speed of Southampton', in J.J. Howard (ed.), ''Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica'' Series 3, vol. 2.i, March 1896 (London: Mitchell and Hughes, 1898), [https://archive.org/details/miscellaneagenea2189howa/page/n67/mode/2up?view=theater pp. 18–25] (Internet Archive).</ref><ref>E. Kell, 'On the Castle and Other Ancient Remains at Southampton', ''Journal of the British Archaeological Association'', Ser.1, XXI (1865), pp. 285-93, [https://archive.org/details/journalofbritish21brit/page/288/mode/2up?view=theater at pp. 289–290, note 2] (Internet Archive).</ref><ref>R. Gough, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WzHeAgAAQBAJ Anecdotes of British Topography: Or, an Historical Account of What Has Been Done For Illustrating The Topographical Antiquities of Great Britain and Ireland]'' (London: W. Richardson and S. Clark, 1768, reprinted in 2014), pp. 184, 448</ref> It appears that the Speed family was fairly well-to-do.<ref>Palmer, "The Town of Holt", pp. 421, 425, 429.</ref>