Alice Leveson

About 1545 Alice married William Hewett. William was a Clothworker who probably had some dealings with Nicholas Levenson in his trade as a Mercer. William and Alice were said to have had many children but all except a daughter named Anne died very young. Anne almost perished in infancy as well when she was accidentally dropped into the Thames River by her nursemaid. According to family tradition, and first printed in 1720 by John Strype, Edward Osborne saved the child's life by diving into the river. After that William treated Edward as a son and when Anne grew up she and Edward were married.

As a high ranking member of the Clothworkers, William was soon tapped for political office. He was a City Auditor in 1549 and was elected Alderman of the Vintry Ward in September of 1550. William might have had a sense of the trouble ahead as he seemed less than eager to take the position. He was jailed at Newgate tower until he took the position. William successfully navigated the brutal five year queen-ship of Mary I and even served as Sheriff of London in 1553. William was named Lord Mayor of London in the same year that Elizabeth I took the throne, 1558.

Alice died on April 8th, 1561, perhaps shortly after the marriage of her daughter to Edward Osborne. A large funeral procession buried Alice at St. Martin Orgar church..

That was the occasion for a mighty funeral procession, led by 24 poor women and 12 poor men in new gowns; then 40 mourners in black, eight aldermen before the Mayor Sir William Chester, and the others after him; 20 clerks singing; a pennon of arms, followed by the Heralds, Rouge Croix Pursuivant and Clarenceux King of Arms, and the corpse with 4 pennons of arms and a black velvet pall worked with arms; the chief mourners; 40 women mourners; the Clothworkers in the livery, and 200 others following in the way to St Martin Orgar church, which was hung with black cloth and arms. After the sermon a dinner was held at the house, also hung with black and arms. The monument raised for her was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, together with most of the church.