Nielsen Hayden genealogy
John Chaucer
Abt 1312 - Bef 1366 (~ 54 years)-
Name John Chaucer Birth Abt 1312 of London, England 
[1, 2] Gender Male Death Bef Jul 1366 [1, 3] Person ID I28536 Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others Last Modified 31 Mar 2025
Father Robert Dynington Mother Mary de Westhale Family ID F10591 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Agnes Copton d. 1381 Children + 1. Geoffrey Chaucer, b. Abt 1340 d. 1400 (Age ~ 60 years) Family ID F4487 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 8 May 2020
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Notes - He was a prominent London wine merchant who became a freeman of the city. He was in the king's service, and accompanied Edward III on the expedition to Antwerp in 1338. He owned property in both Ipswich and London.
In 1324, age twelve, he was kidnapped by an aunt, who intended to marry him to her daughter in order to keep certain Ipswich holdings in her branch of the family. Instead, young John was freed, and the aunt and her accomplices went to prison and paid a fine of £250. The Riverside Chaucer (citation details below) cites the size of the fine — about $311,000 in 2025 money — as proof of the family's overall wealth.
- He was a prominent London wine merchant who became a freeman of the city. He was in the king's service, and accompanied Edward III on the expedition to Antwerp in 1338. He owned property in both Ipswich and London.
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Sources - [S76] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004-ongoing.
- [S8111] The Riverside Chaucer, third edition, ed. Larry D. Benson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.
- [S8110] Chaucer's Major Poetry ed. Albert C. Baugh. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1963., year only.
- [S76] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004-ongoing.