Sir John was the son of Robert de Aston, of Parkhall and Heywood,[a] and his second wife Isabel, daughter of Sir William Brereton, of Brereton, Staffordshire.[1]
Ashton was one of the adherents of William, Lord Hastings, who was put to death in a very summary manner, by the protector, afterwards King Richard III. The name of John Aston, Esq. is to be found in a list of 89 persons, knights, esquires, and gentlemen, who engaged to stand by Lord Hastings, whether in peace or war.[b]
Sir John was Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1475, (15th of the reign of Edward IV),[3][4] and 1481 (20th of the reign of Edward IV).[5] He was also twice Sheriff of Warwickshire.[6]
Family
Sir John married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Delves, of Doddington, Cheshire. They had sons and daughters:[7]
The son of Sir Robert Aston of Parkhall and Heywood (Burke 1866, p. 13)
The grandson of Sir Roger Aston of Great Heywood (Burke 1866, p. 13), who was one of the prime gentry returned by the commissioners for that county in 1433 (Burke 1866, p. 13), and served as Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1427 and 1433 during the (5th and 10th years of the reign of Henry VI (Erdeswicke & Harwood 1820, p. 63).
^This list is contained in an ancient roll, titled "Anno Edwardi Quarti decimo quarto", contains two lords; nine knights, 58 esquires, and 20 gentlemen, in all 89. The name of John Aston is the third among the esquires.[2]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Constable, Sir Thomas Hugh; Clifford, Arthur (1817), A topographical and historical description of the parish of Tixall in the County of Stafford, Paris, p. 242–243