Walter Yonge (1579–1649) of Great House in the parish of Colyton in Devon, England, was a lawyer, merchant and diarist.
He was the eldest son and heir of John II Yonge (d. 1612) of Colyton by his wife Alice Stere. His grandfather was John I Yongeof Axminster, Devon (who has been confused in Vivian (1895) with John Young (died 1589) of The Great House, Bristol, Gloucestershire, MP for Plymouth in 1555.[1]) His great-grandfather was Walter I Yonge (fl. tempore Henry VII (1485–1509) & Henry VIII (1509–1547)) of Bossington, Berkshire (sic[2]), who having been the first of his family to settle in Devonshire purchased several estates in that county, including:
Yonge was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, and was called to the bar from Middle Temple. In 1628 he was Sheriff of Devon. As a merchant he invested in the Dorchester Company, a joint-stock company promoting fishing and colonisation in New England. He was a Member of Parliament for Honiton, Devon, in the Long Parliament from 1640, but did not sit after Pride's Purge in December 1648. From 1642 to 1648 he was one of the victuallers of the Navy.
Yonge married Jane Periam, a daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Peryam (1541 – c. 1618) of Exeter, Devon, MP four times (Barnstaple 1584, Bossiney 1586, Exeter 1589 and 1593) and Mayor of Exeter,[7] by his wife Elizabeth Hone, a daughter and co-heir of Robert Hone of Ottery.[8] Jane's uncle was Sir William Peryam (15349 October 1604) of Little Fulford, near Crediton in Devon, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. By his wife he had two sons and one daughter as follows:
Yonge is now best remembered as an author: his well-known diaries (1604–1627 and 1642–1645) are valuable historical material, especially four volumes now in the British Library (Add MSS 18777–18780). These were published in Britain in the 19th century by the Camden Society. Full text on-line at archive.org https://archive.org/stream/diaryofwalteryon00camduoft/diaryofwalteryon00camduoft_djvu.txt.