Ralph Freeman (died 16 March 1634) was an English

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

who was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

in 1633. Freeman was a city of London merchant and a member of the

Worshipful Company of Clothworkers The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, formed by the amalgamation of its two predecessor companies, the Fullers (incorporated 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporated 1508). It succeeded to the position of t ...

. He was on the committee of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

from 1608 to 1611 and from 1612 to 1615. From 1613 to 1615 he was an auditor of the City and served as one of the Court of Assistants of the

Levant Company The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired, ...

from 1614 to 1615 and from 1616 to 1623. He was a member of the committee of the East India Company from 1617 to 1619. In 1620 he was elected

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery company, livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have ...

but did not serve immediately. He was also Master of the

Clothworkers Company The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, formed by the amalgamation of its two predecessor companies, the Fullers (incorporated 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporated 1508). It succeeded to the position of t ...

in 1620 and on the committee of the East India Company from 1622 to 1623. On 12 November 1622, he was elected an alderman of the City of London for

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

ward. He was Sheriff of London from 1623 to 1624. In 1633 he became alderman for Cornhill ward and in 1633, he was elected

. 'Chronological list of aldermen: 1601-1650', The Aldermen of the City of London: Temp. Henry III - 1912 (1908), pp. 47-75. Date accessed: 16 July 2011
/ref> Freeman married Joan Crouch, a daughter of John Crouch of

Layston Layston is a former village and parish located about a kilometre north-east of Buntingford in Hertfordshire, England, at 51°57′50″N 0°00′45″E. In 1931 the parish had a population of 724. On 1 April 1937 the parish was abolished and mer ...

. They had several children but lost at least four sons from 1598 onwards. By the time of his wife’s death in 1615, he was left with just one daughter, Jane who married

George Sondes, 1st Earl of Feversham Sir George Sondes, 1st Earl of Feversham KB (November 1599 – 16 April 1677) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1626 and 1676 and was then created a peer and member of the House of Lords. Life So ...

'Notes on the aldermen, 1502-1700', The Aldermen of the City of London: Temp. Henry III - 1912 (1908), pp. 168-195. Date accessed: 15 July 2011
/ref> in 1620. She died in 1637 leaving two sons, George and Freeman. Tragedy struck the family in 1655 when Freeman, then a youth of nineteen, murdered George, apparently simply out of jealousy, and was hanged for the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

. Sir Ralph was Lord of the Manor of

Aspenden Aspenden is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is just to the south of Buntingford. The Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geograph ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Ralph Year of birth missing 1634 deaths 17th-century lord mayors of London English merchants Sheriffs of the City of London