Nicholas Wilder
* Born: Cir 1463, , , , Germany
* Marriage: (1): Unknown
* Marriage: (2): Elizabeth 1494, , , , England
* Died: 1525, Shiplake, Oxfordshire, , England
The first Wilder known in history was Nicholas, a military chieftain, in the army of the Earl of Richmond at the battle of Bosworth in 1485. The fact that it is a German name and that it is quite common in some parts of Germany at the present time (1878) would indicate that he was one of those who came with the Earl from France, and landed at Milford Haven.
On the 15th of April 1497, being the twelfth of the reign of Henry VII, he gave to his friend as a token of his favor a landed estate with a coat of arms. That estate is still held by his heirs. From a number of English books we gather the line of descent of that family and that from the son of Nicholas until 1777 they were born at Shiplake which seems to have been the family residence.
The first Wilder known in history was Nicholas, in 1485 he was a military chieftain, in the army of the Earl of Richmond, at the battle of Bosworth, Liechestershire where the Earl defeated King Richard III to become King Henry VII of England. Because his name is common in Germany, it is assumed that Nicholas was born there and came with the Earl from France, landing at Milford Haven and gathering supporters as they moved eastward across Wales and England. The nearness of this route to Derbyshire, however, raises the possibility that Nicholas was related to the William Wilder found on the Subsidy Rolls for that county in 1327, and joined the Earl in that area leading a group of men angered by King Richard's treachery. At any rate, by his performance in the battle that followed, Nicholas won the esteem of the new King. In 1496, he bought the property called Nunhide in Berkshire from a man named John Kent. On the 15th of April, 1497, being the twelfth of the reign of Henry VII., he gave to his friend, ( Nicholas Wilder ) as a token of his favor, a landed estate with a coat of arms. That estate was the Sulham estate, and in the year 1878 was still held by his heirs. The landed estate bestowed upon Nicholas Wilder was not large, and of itself would not sustain an expensive establishment; yet so far as we can ascertain, the family name has ever been held in high esteem.
St. Nicholas Church (an Episcopal Church or Church of England) stands on the Sulham Estate. It was rebuilt in 1832, but a church has been there since the late thirteenth century. Except for a short period, all its rectors from 1785 until 1944 were Wilders.
On the Thames, four and a half miles north-east of Reading, is Shiplake, where came the widow Martha Wilder and her daughter Mary, to join the other children in New England.
Book of the Wilders
Nicholas also married Elizabeth in 1494 in , , , England. (Elizabeth was born in Nunhide, Oxfordshire, , England and died in Nunhide, Oxfordshire, , England.)
From: http://www.sbsresorts.com/family/Pedigree/web/NBC/1793.htm Page no longer available here.