Interesting Ancestors

Reuben Oliver (abt 1798–1837), my third great grandfather

He died while fishing on Country Line Creek, Caswell County, North Carolina, when he was struck by lightning.

Stephen Oliver (1752–1828), my fourth great grandfather

He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Gabriel Lea (1758–1834), my fourth great grandfather

He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He also served in the North Carolina State Legislature.

Captain Robert Blackwell (1742–1813), my fifth great grandfather

During the American Revolution he was a First Lieutenant in Captain Ramsey's Company and became Captain in 1777. In 1796 and 1797 he represented Caswell County in the North Carolina House of Commons.

Ambrose Rucker (1724–1807), my fifth great grandfather

He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution as Captain of the Amherst County, Virginia, Militia until 1779, then was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He served at the Battle of Yorktown, the final battle of the American Revolution.

Colonel William Lea (1654–1703), my seventh great grandfather

Colonel William Lea was President of the Virginia House of Burgesees and was a colonel in the King & Queen Militia for the Colony of Virginia. He was also the first Judge of the Admiralty Court.

Governor Edward Digges (1621–1675), my ninth great grandfather

Edward Digges, baptized 29 March 1621 at Chilham, Kent, entered Gray's Inn 19 May 1637. Edward Digges immigrated to the Virginia Colony about 1650 and purchased the Bellfield Plantation in present-day York County, Virginia, near Yorktown. His efforts at this plantation are noted as one of the first attempts by the colonists to raise silkworms in hopes of production of Virginia silk to compete with the Orient. Edward Digges employed two Armenians to help him but the industry proved a failure. To this day there are numerous mulberry trees, which were used to raise the silk worms, still standing on the land of the old plantation. He was given a seat in the council in November 1644, "having given a signal testimony of his fidelity to this colony and commonwealth of England."

Edward Digges served as Colonial Governor of Virginia from March 30, 1655 to December 1656, for which he received a salary of 25,000 pounds of tobacco, with the duties levied on vessels, and marriage license fees. In December 1656, The House of Burgesses selected Samuel Mathews as governor to replace Edward Digges and Digges became the colonial agent to England. In this position, Digges was to go to England and meet with English merchants about the price of tobacco and to secure the rights of the colony. Leaving in March 1657, he took a letter from the House of Burgesses to Oliver Cromwell, who had been ruling England since 1653, following the English Civil War, to settle the long pending controversy between the Colony and Lord Baltimore.

Sir Dudley Digges (1583–1638), my tenth great grandfather

Dudley Digges matriculated at University College, Oxford on 18 July 1600 aged 17 and was awarded BA on 1 July 1601. He was knighted by James I at Whitehall on 29 April 1607. In 1610 Digges was elected Member of Parliament for the newly enfranchised constituency of Tewkesbury.

He was a friend of Henry Hudson and in 1610 he was one of those who fitted out Hudson for his last voyage. As a result, Digges' name was given to Digges Islands, at the mouth of Hudson Bay in Canada, and to Cape Digges, at the easternmost extremity of these islands. In 1614 Digges was re-elected MP for Tewkesbury to the Addled Parliament.

In 1616 he completed his mansion of Chilham Castle, Kent.

He was named ambassador to Muscovy in 1618–19 and Special Ambassador to Holland in 1620. In 1621, he was re-elected MP for Tewkesbury. He was re-elected MP for Tewkesbury in 1624, 1625 and 1626.

In 1631 Digges became a bencher of Gray's Inn and was master in chancery from 1631 to 1637. In the same year, he was one of the commission appointed by the Privy Council "to consider how the plantation of Virginia now standeth, and to consider what commodity may be raised in those parts," and in 1634, he was appointed Commissioner for Virginia Tobacco. In 1638 he was appointed Master of the Rolls until his death in 1639.

Lieutenant Colonel Lemuel Mason (1628–1702), my tenth great grandfather

Some idea of Col. Lemuel Mason's activities and prominence may be gained by reviewing the list of offices held by him: Vestryman, 15 June, 1649; Justice of the Peace of Lower Norfolk [Virginia], from 1650 until his death; High Sheriff; Major of Militia, 1658, Colonel of Militia, 1665; Presiding Justice after 1669; represented Lower Norfolk in the House of Burgesses, 20 November, 1654; 10 March, 1654–55; 1 December, 1656, and almost without a break until 10 October, 1693.

Edward Stafford (1478–1521), 3rd Duke of Buckingham, my fourteenth great grandfather

He was the eldest son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Catherine Woodville and was thus a nephew of Elizabeth Woodville, queen consort of King Edward IV.

By his father's marriage to Catherine Woodville, Stafford had a younger brother, Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and two sisters, Elizabeth, who married Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex, and Anne, who married firstly Sir Walter Herbert (d. 16 September 1507), an illegitimate son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and secondly George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon.

After the execution of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, his widow, Catherine Woodville, married Jasper Tudor, second son of Owen Tudor and King Henry V's widow, Catherine of Valois. After Jasper Tudor's death on 21 December 1495, Catherine Woodville married Sir Richard Wingfield (d. 22 July 1525). Catherine Woodville died 18 May 1497.

Buckingham was one of few peers with substantial Plantagenet blood and maintained numerous connections, often among his extended family, with the rest of the upper aristocracy, which activities attracted Henry's suspicion. During 1520, Buckingham became suspected of potentially treasonous actions and Henry VIII authorised an investigation. The King personally examined witnesses against him, gathering enough evidence for a trial. The Duke was finally summoned to Court in April 1521 and arrested and placed in the Tower. He was tried before a panel of 17 peers, being accused of listening to prophecies of the King's death and intending to kill the King. He was executed on Tower Hill on 17 May. Buckingham was posthumously attainted by Act of Parliament on 31 July 1523, disinheriting most of his wealth from his children. His death is portrayed at the end of the second episode of the HBO series "The Tudors".

Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland (abt 1449–1489), my fifteenth great grandfather

He was an English aristocrat during the Wars of the Roses. After losing his title when his father was killed fighting the Yorkists, he later regained his position. He led the rear guard of Richard III's army at the Battle of Bosworth, but failed to commit his troops. He was briefly imprisoned by Henry VII, but later restored to his position. A few years later he was murdered by citizens of York during a revolt against Henry VII's taxation.

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1454–1483), my fifteenth great grandfather

He was an English nobleman known as the namesake of Buckingham's rebellion, a failed but significant collection of uprisings in England and parts of Wales against Richard III of England in October 1483. He is also one of the primary suspects in the disappearance (and presumed murder) of the Princes in the Tower.

Upon the death of Edward IV in 1483, Buckingham allied himself to the king's younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, helping him succeed to the throne as Richard III in lieu of Edward's living sons. Becoming disaffected with Richard, Buckingham then joined with Henry Tudor and Tudor's mother, Margaret Beaufort, leading an unsuccessful rebellion in his name. Buckingham was executed for treason by Richard on 2 November 1483: he was beheaded in the courtyard between the Blue Boar Inn and the Sarcen's Head Inn (both demolished in the 18th century) near Salisbury market-place.

Catherine Woodville (abt 1458–1497), my fifteenth great grandmother

She was the daughter of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. As such, she was the sister of Elizabeth Woodville, queen consort of Edward IV, and aunt to the Princes of the Tower, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York.

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland (1421–1461), my sixteenth great grandfather

Percy married Eleanor Poynings, who outlived him; together they had four children. He was a leading Lancastrian during the Wars of the Roses, from which he managed to personally benefit, although his father died early in the war. He was not, however, to live to enjoy these gains, being killed at the Battle of Towton–the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil–in 1461 on the defeated Lancastrian side.

Humphrey Stafford (ca 1425–1458), Earl Stafford, my sixteenth great grandfather

He is the son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and the father of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham.

Lord Stafford fought under his father-in-law, Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, in support of the House of Lancaster during the First Battle of St, Albans. He appears to have been badly wounded at this battle, but either eventually died of his wounds or from the plague, predeceasing his own father in 1458.

Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers (abt 1405–1469), my sixteenth great grandfather

Richard Woodville was the son of Richard Wydeville (Woodville), chamberlain to the John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford. In 1433 the Duke had married the 17-year-old Jacquetta of Luxembourg; she was the Duke's second wife and he was significantly older and in ill health. When the Duke died in 1435, Jacquetta was left a childless and wealthy widow. She was required to seek permission from King Henry VI before she could remarry, but in March 1437 it was revealed that she had secretly married Richard Woodville who was far below her in rank and not considered a suitable husband for the lady still honoured as the king's aunt. The couple were fined £1000, but this was remitted in October of the same year.

Woodville was a captain in 1429, served in France in 1433 and was a knight of the regent Duke of Bedford in 1435. He was at Gerberoy in 1435 and served under William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, in 1435–36. He then fought under Somerset and Shrewsbury in 1439 and the Duke of York in 1441–42, when he was made captain of Alençon and knight banneret. He was appointed seneschal of Gascony in 1450 (but failed to reach it before its fall), lieutenant of Calais in 1454–55, and to defend Kent against invasion by the Yorkist earls in 1459–60 (but was captured at Sandwich). He was created Baron Rivers by Henry VI on 9 May 1448. Two years later, as Sir Richard, he was invested as a Knight of the Garter in 1450. He was appointed Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1459.

In the Wars of the Roses, he was initially a Lancastrian, but he became a Yorkist when he thought that the Lancastrian cause was lost. He reconciled himself to the victorious Edward IV, his future son-in-law. On 1 May 1464, Edward married his daughter Elizabeth, widow of Sir John Grey of Groby. Richard was created Earl Rivers in 1466, appointed Lord Treasurer in March 1466 and Constable of England on 24 August 1467.

The power of this new family was very distasteful to the old baronial party, and especially so to the Earl of Warwick. Rivers was regarded as a social upstart, and in an ironical episode, his future son-in-law in 1459, while accepting his submission, had rebuked him for daring, given his lowly birth, to fight against the House of York. The Privy Council, in its horrified response to the King's marriage, said bluntly that Richard Woodville's low social standing in itself meant that the King must surely know "that Elizabeth was not the wife for him". Early in 1468, the Rivers estates were plundered by Warwick's partisans, and the open war of the following year was aimed at destroying the Woodvilles. After the Yorkist defeat at the Battle of Edgecote Moor on 26 July 1469, Rivers and his second son John were taken prisoners at Chepstow. Following a hasty show trial, they were beheaded at Kenilworth on 12 August 1469.

He is the father of Elizabeth Woodville, queen consort of Edward IV, and as such great grandfather of Henry VIII.

Jacquetta of Luxembourg (1416–1472), my sixteenth great grandmother

She was a prominent, though often overlooked, figure in the Wars of the Roses. Through her short-lived first marriage to the Duke of Bedford, brother of King Henry V, she was firmly allied to the House of Lancaster. However, following the emphatic Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Towton, she and her second husband Richard Woodville sided closely with the House of York. Three years after the battle and the accession of Edward IV of England, Jacquetta's eldest daughter Elizabeth Woodville married him and became Queen consort of England. Jacquetta bore Woodville 14 children and stood trial on charges of witchcraft, for which she was exonerated.

Her father Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, was also the hereditary Count of Brienne from 1397 until his death in 1433. Peter had succeeded his father John of Luxembourg, Lord of Beauvoir and mother Marguerite of Enghien, who had been Count and Countess of Brienne from 1394 to her death in 1397. John had been a fourth-generation descendant of Waleran I of Luxembourg, Lord of Ligny, second son of Henry V of Luxembourg and Margaret of Bar. This cadet line of the House of Luxembourg held Ligny-en-Barrois.

Jacquetta's paternal great-grandmother, Mahaut of Châtillon, was descended from Beatrice of England, daughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. Jacquetta's mother, Margherita del Balzo, was a daughter of Francesco del Balzo, 1st Duke of Andria, and Sueva Orsini. Sueva descended from Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England, the youngest child of King John of England and Isabella of Angoulême.

The Luxembourgs claimed legendary descent from the water deity Melusine through their ancestor Siegfried of Luxembourg (c. 922–998). Jacquetta was a fourth cousin twice removed of Sigismund of Luxembourg, the reigning Holy Roman Emperor and king of Bohemia and Hungary.

Margaret Beaufort (abt 1437–1474), my sixteenth great grandmother

No, this is not Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, later Henry VII. Rather this is her first cousin, also named Margaret Beaufort, daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset (see below) and who married Humphrey Stafford, Earl Stafford. Their son was Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. I find it interesting that the two Margaret Beaufort cousins married two brothers: Humphrey Stafford (see above) and Henry Stafford.

Henry Percy (1392/1393–1455), 2nd Earl of Northumberland, my seventeenth great grandfather

His father and grandfather were killed in different rebellions against Henry IV in 1403 and 1408 respectively, and the young Henry spent his minority in exile in Scotland. Only after the death of Henry IV in 1413 was he reconciled with the Crown, and in 1416 he was created Earl of Northumberland.

In the following years, Northumberland occasionally served with the king in France, but his main occupation was the protection of the border to Scotland. At the same time, a feud with the Neville family was developing, particularly with Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury. This feud became entangled with the conflict between the dukes of York and Somerset over control of national government. The conflict culminated in the first battle of the Wars of the Roses, at St. Albans, where both Somerset and Northumberland were killed.

Humphrey Stafford (1402–1460), 1st Duke of Buckingham, my seventeenth great grandfather,

Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, was an English nobleman and a military commander in both the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses.

He joined the English campaign in France with King Henry V in 1420, and following Henry V's death two years later he became a councillor for the new King, the nine-month-old Henry VI. Stafford acted as a peacemaker during the partisan, factional politics of the 1430s, when Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester vied with Cardinal Beaufort for political supremacy. Stafford also took part in the eventual arrest of Gloucester in 1447.

Following his return from France, Stafford remained in England for the rest of his life, serving King Henry.

He acted as both King's bodyguard and chief negotiator during Jack Cade's rebellion of 1450 and helped suppress it. Similarly, when the King's cousin, Richard, Duke of York, rebelled two years later, Stafford investigated York's followers. In 1453, the King became ill and sank into a catatonic state; law and order broke down further, and the country slid towards civil war. When armed conflict broke out in 1455 Stafford fought for the King in the first battle of the Wars of the Roses, at St Albans in 1455, where they were both captured by the Yorkists. Stafford spent much of the last years of his life attempting to mediate between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions, the latter by now headed by Henry's Queen, Margaret of Anjou. Partly due to a personal feud with a leading Yorkist—then Richard, Earl of Warwick—Stafford eventually declared for King Henry. The weight Stafford could throw behind the royal campaign was responsible for Richard, Duke of York's defeat in 1459, which drove York into exile. On the rebels' return the following year they attacked the royal army at Northampton. Acting as the King's personal guard, in the ensuing struggle Stafford was killed, and the King was again taken prisoner. Stafford's eldest son had died of plague two years earlier, so the Buckingham dukedom descended to Stafford's five-year-old grandson, Henry, a ward of the King until he came of age in 1473.

Edmund Beaufort (ca 1406–1455), 2nd Duke of Somerset, my seventeenth great grandfather,

His paternal grandfather was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and son of King Edward III.

His paternal grandfather was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and son of King Edward III.

Edmund became a commander in the English army in 1431. he was named a Knight of the Garter in 1436.

Somerset was appointed to replace Richard Planatagenet, 3rd Duke of York, as commander in France in 1448.

With weak or mad King Henry VI, power had rested with Somerset from 1451 and he virtually monopolised it, with Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI, as one of his principal allies. It was also widely suspected that Edmund had an extra-marital affair with Margaret. After giving birth to a son in October 1453, Margaret took great pains to quash rumours that Somerset might be his father.

York, was determined to depose Somerset by one means or another, and in May 1455 he raised an army. He confronted Somerset and the King in an engagement known as the First Battle of St Albans which marked the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Somerset was killed in a last wild charge from the house where he had been sheltering.

Piers de Gaveston (abt 1284–1312), 1st Earl of Cornwall, my seventeenth great grandfather

Edward II bestowed the Earldom of Cornwall on Gaveston, and arranged for him to marry his niece Margaret de Clare, sister of the powerful Earl of Gloucester.

Gaveston's exclusive access to the King provoked several members of the nobility, and in 1307 the King was again forced to send him into exile. During this absence he served as the King's Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Edward managed to negotiate a deal with the opposition, however, and Gaveston returned the next year. Upon his return his behaviour became even more offensive, and by the Ordinances of 1311 it was decided that Gaveston should be exiled for a third time, to suffer outlawry if he returned. When he did return in 1312, he was hunted down and executed by a group of magnates led by Thomas of Lancaster and Guy de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick.

It was alleged by medieval chroniclers that Edward II and Piers Gaveston were lovers, a rumour that was reinforced by later portrayals in fiction, such as Christopher Marlowe's late 16th-century play Edward II.

Edmund Stafford (abt 1377–1403), 5th Earl Stafford, my eighteenth great grandfather

He was killed by the Scotsman, Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas while fighting with the royalist forces of King Henry IV at the Battle of Shrewsbury on 21 July 1403. He was buried at the Church of the Austin Friars in Stafford.

The death of the Earl at the battle of Shrewsbury is mentioned in Henry IV Part 1 but otherwise he is not in the play. "And thou shalt find a king that will revenge Lord Stafford's death". Henry IV Part 1 Act 5 Scene 3 by William Shakespeare.

Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy (1364–1403), my eighteenth great grandfather

He was the most renowned knight of his day.

He was a significant captain during the Anglo-Scottish wars. He later led successive rebellions against Henry IV of England and was slain at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 at the height of his career.

Richard Fitzalan (1346–1397), Eleventh Earl of Arundel, my eighteenth great grandfather

Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel and 10th Earl of Surrey (1346–September 21, 1397, beheaded) was an English nobleman and military commander.

At the coronation of Richard II, Richard FitzAlan carried the crown. In 1377 he was Admiral of the West and South, and in 1386 Admiral of all England. In this capacity he defeated a combined Franco-Spanish-Flemish fleet off of Margate in 1387. The following year he was one of the Lords Appellant to Richard II. In 1397 he was arrested for his opposition to Richard II, and then attainted and beheaded.

Edward III Plantagenet (1312–1377), King of England, my eighteenth great grandfather

Reigned 1327-1377. Edward assumed effective power in 1330 after imprisoning his mother and executing her lover Roger de Mortimer (See below) who had murdered his father; therafter his reign was dominated by military adventures. His victory in Scotland, especially at Halidon Hill 1333 encouraged him to plan (1363) the union of England and Scotland. Through his mother he claimed the French throne thus starting (1337) the Hundred years war. His son John of Gaunt dominated the government during his last years. Died of a Stroke. The fact that Edward III outlived his son and heir left him without an heir of legal age. The descendants of his two younger sons, John, Duke of Lancaster, and Edmund, Duke of York, fought the War of the Roses for succession to the throne.

Richard de Beauchamp (1382–1439), 13th Earl of Warwick, my eighteenth great grandfather

Richard was knighted at the coronation of Henry IV of England. He succeeded to the earldom of Warwick in 1401. He fought against a Welsh rebellion shortly after 1401. On 22 July 1403, the day after the Battle of Shrewsbury, he was made a Knight of the Garter.

In 1410, he was appointed a member of the royal council and in 1413 was Lord High Steward at the Prince's coronation as Henry V of England. He spent much of the next decade fighting the French in the Hundred Years' War. In 1419, he was created Count of Aumale, part of the King's policy of giving out Norman titles to his nobles.

He fought with Henry V in France, appears in the play Henry V by Shakespeare, given the lines before Agincourt 1415: "O that we now had here But one ten thousand of those men in England That do no work today." He received the captured Joan of Arc 1431 and the English contrived to have her burnt by the church.

Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland (1341–1408), my nineteenth great grandfather

Henry Percy was originally a follower of Edward III of England, for whom he held high offices in the administration of northern England. He went on to support King Richard II. He was given the title of Marshal of England and created an Earl at Richard's coronation (1377). After Richard elevated his rival Ralph Neville to the position of Earl of Westmorland in 1397, Percy supported the rebellion of Henry Bolingbroke, who became King as Henry IV.

In 1403 the Percys turned against Henry IV in favour of Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, and then conspired with Owain Glynd?r against Henry. The Percy rebellion failed at the Battle of Shrewsbury, where Harry "Hotspur" Percy was killed. In 1408, Henry Percy invaded England in rebellion once more and was killed at the Battle of Bramham Moor. His severed head was subsequently put on display at London Bridge.

Sir Thomas de Berkeley (1293–1361), 3rd Lord Berkeley, my nineteenth great grandfather

In 1327 he was made joint custodian of the deposed King Edward II, whom he received at Berkeley Castle. He was later commanded to deliver custody of the king to his fellow custodians, namely John Maltravers, 1st Baron Maltravers and Sir Thomas Gournay. He left the king at Berkeley Castle and with heavy cheere perceiving what violence was intended he journeyed to Bradley. The king was murdered at Berkeley Castle during his absence. As an accessory to the murder of the deposed king, he was tried by a jury of 12 knights in 1330 and was honourably acquitted. His father-in-law, Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, was not so lucky.

This story is explored in detail in the epsisode on Courtney Cox of "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Edward II Plantagenet (1284–1327), King of England, my nineteenth great grandfather

Edward II was King of England from 1307 to 1327. He was born in Caernarvon Castle, Wales, in 1284 during one of his father's campaigns against the Welsh.

He was the first heir apparent to the English throne to hold the title Prince of Wales beginning in 1301. He married Isabella of France (1292–1358) in 1308.

His first gay lover Piers de Gaveston (see above) was murdered in 1312 and his second gay lover Hugh le Despencer (see below) was murdered in 1326.

Edward II lost Scotland at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. He was deposed in 1327 by Queen Isabella and her lover, Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, (see below) and murdered at Berkeley Castle in 1327, age 43 years, by having a red-hot poker inserted into his bowels.

He is buried in Gloucester Cathedral.

Roger de Mortimer (1287–1330), 1st Earl of March, my nineteenth great grandfather

Roger Mortimer was a very powerful and ambitious Marcher Lord. He was the first of several members of his family to attempt to seize the throne of England. He fought the Scottish Wars and made attempts to remove the King's favorites, at first with some success. In 1323 he was imprisoned in the Tower of London, but escaped to France, an event he later commemorated by building St Peter's chapel in the outer bailey of Ludlow Castle. In France, Mortimer formed an alliance with Queen Isabella, who had deserted her effeminate husband, King Edward II of England. They raised an army, invaded England and forced Edward to abdicate in favor of his youngest son, the future Edward III. Mortimer entertained Isabella at his castles on the Welsh borders and they became famous lovers. Meanwhile, Edward II was cruelly murdered at Berkeley Castle in 1327. Following Edward's death, Mortimer, acting as regent, was the virtual ruler of England, but he over-reached himself and aroused the anger of other barons. In October 1330 he was arrested at Nottingham and sentenced to death. He was executed at Tyburn in London.

William De Bohun (ca 1310–1360), 1st Earl of Northampton, my nineteenth great grandfather

Illustrious birth, eminent abilities and undaunted prowess were qualities signally united by William De Bohun. He was the fifth son of Humphrey De Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford & Essex, Constable of England, by the Princess Elizabeth, seventh daughter of King Edward I. Having mainly assisted in the overthrow of the rebel Mortimer, and given other proofs of courage and loyalty, he was, on the occasion of conferring the Dukedom of Cornwall upon the Black Prince, in 1337, created Earl of Northampton and endowed with extensive grants for the support of that dignity. In the same year, he was appointed one of the commissioners to treat with Philip of Valois, touching the right to the French Crown, and also to negotiate a peace with David Bruce. He was one of the marshals in the third battalia of King Edward III's army, drawn up at Vironfosse in 1339, and, in the following year, bore a part in the naval victory of Sluys. In 1342, William was constituted the King's Lieutenant and Captain-General in Brittany, with power to receive fealty and homage from the inhabitants on behalf of his master under his assumed title as King of France. Whilst upon that high service, he defeated the enemy at Morlaix and took the town of Roch-Dirien by assault. In 1343, he was in the expedition of the Earl of Lancaster into Scotland and was appointed Governor of Lochmaben Castle; and, in the same year, was again in Brittany. In 1346, he had the chief command of the second division of the army at the Battle of Crécy. In 1347, he is particularly mentioned by the King in his letter to the Archbishop of York, detailing the events before Calais. He was again actively employed, in 1348, beyond the sea. He was elected to the Most Noble Order of the Garter after September 1349 and succeeded to the choir stall of his nephew, Sir Hugh Courtenay, at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. According to the custom upon the admission of the early knights of that order, he executed a deed of gift, dated London, 4th May following, of the advowson of Dadington to the canons of the said chapel. The public records attest the constant employment of this earl in military and diplomatic transactions of the highest importance down to the period of his death, which happened on the 16th September 1360. His remains were interred in the Abbey of Walden (Essex), on the north side of the presbytery. The Earl of Northampton married Elizabeth (who died in 1356), widow of Edmund, Lord Mortimer, and sister & co-heiress of Giles, Lord Badlesmere, by whom he left issue, Humphrey, heir to his dignity, and, upon the decease of the latter's uncle, also Earl of Hereford & Essex.

Edward I (1239–1307), King of England, my twentieth great grandfather

In the Barons war 1264–67 he defeated the Barons at Evesham (1265). As King he is noted for encouraging Parliamentary institutions at the expense of feudalism and for subduing Wales on which he imposed the English system of administration. He later tried to assert his authority over Scotland and died while on his way to fight Robert Bruce.

During the Battle of Falkirk, which took place on 22 July 1298, one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence, King Edward I of England and his the English army defeated the Scots, led by William Wallace.

In 1305, Wallace was captured in Robroyston near Glasgow and handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him summarily hanged, drawn, and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians. This was portrayed in the 1995 Academy-award winning movie Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson.

Hugh le Spencer (abt 1287–1326), my twentieth great grandfather

Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser, also referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser) by his wife Isabella de Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick. In May 1306 Hugh le Despenser the younger was knighted, and that summer he married Eleanor de Clare, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 9th Lord of Clare and 7th Earl of Hertford and Joan of Acre. Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I, had arranged the marriage.

Hugh le Despenser the younger became royal chamberlain in 1318. As a royal courtier, Despenser manoeuvred into the affections of King Edward, displacing the previous favourite, Roger d'Amory. This was much to the dismay of the baronage as they saw him both taking their rightful places at court and being a worse version of Gaveston. By 1320 his greed was running free.

Finally the barons prevailed upon King Edward and forced Despenser and his father into exile in August 1321.

Following the exile of the Despensers, the barons who opposed them fell out among themselves, and the King summoned the two men back to England.

Hugh le Despenser the Younger tried to starve himself before his trial, but he did face trial on 24 November 1326, in Hereford, before Mortimer and the Queen. He was found guilty on many charges and was sentenced to a protracted form of execution. Mortimer and the Queen, with their main supporters, presided over the public execution.

Despenser was dragged naked through the streets, for the crowd's mistreatment. He was made a spectacle, which included writing on his body biblical verses against the capital sins he was accused of. Then he was hanged as a mere thief, yet released before full asphyxiation could happen.

In Froissart's account of his execution, Despenser was then tied firmly to a ladder and his genitals sliced off and burned while he was still conscious. His entrails were slowly pulled out; finally, his heart was cut out and thrown into a fire. Froissart (or rather Jean le Bel's chronicle, on which he relied) is the only source to mention castration; other contemporary accounts have Despenser hanged, drawn and quartered, which usually did not involve castration.

Despenser's body was beheaded, and cut into four pieces. His head was mounted on the gates of London.

14th century court historian Froissart wrote that "he was a sodomite". According to Froissart, Despenser's penis was severed and burned in his execution as a punishment for his sodomy and heresy In 1326, as Isabella and Mortimer invaded, the bishop of Hereford, Adam Orleton, gave a sermon in which he publicly denounced Edward, who had fled with Despenser, as a sodomite. The annals of Newenham Abbey recording, "the king and his husband" fled to Wales.

Sir Roger Mortimer (1231–1282), 1st Baron Mortimer, my twentieth great grandfather

He was a loyal ally of King Henry III. At the Battle of Evesham in 1265, Mortimer himself killed Hugh Despencer the Elder and Simon de Montfort, and crushed Montfort's army. Mortimer was awarded Montfort's severed head and other parts of his anatomy, which he sent home to Wigmore Castle as a gift for his wife, Lady Mortimer.

Richard de Clare (1162–1218), 3rd Earl of Hertford, my twenty-third great grandfather

He was present at the coronations of King Richard I at Westminster, 3 September 1189, and King John on 27 May 1199. He sided with the Barons against King John, even though he had previously sworn peace with the King at Northampton, and his castle of Tonbridge was taken. He played a leading part in the negotiations for Magna Carta, being one of the twenty five sureties. On 9 November 1215, he was one of the commissioners on the part of the Barons to negotiate the peace with the King. He and his son, Gilbert de Clare (abt 1182–1230), Earl of Gloucester, my twenty-second great grandfather, were both Magna Carta Sureties; present at the signing.

Hugh de Spenser (1261–1326), 1st Earl of Winchester, my twenty-first great grandfather

He served Edward I on numerous occasions in battle and in diplomacy and was created a baron by writ of summons to Parliament in 1295. His son, Hugh Despenser the Younger, became a favourite of Edward II, in what is believed to be a homosexual relationship. Hugh the Elder was loyal to his son and the King, which worried the barons. To that time, his highest office was justice of the forests.

He was one of the few barons to remain loyal to Edward during the controversy regarding Piers Gaveston. Despenser became Edward's loyal servant and chief administrator after Gaveston was executed in 1312, but the jealousy of other barons—and, more importantly, his own corruption and unjust behaviour—led to his being exiled along with his son Hugh Despenser the younger in 1321, when Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent replaced him as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

Edward found it difficult to manage without them, and recalled them to England a year later, an action which enraged the queen, Isabella, the more so when Despenser was created Earl of Winchester in 1322. Although not as bad as his son, Despencer the Elder was accused by a significant number of people of widespread criminality during the next few years, often involving false accusations of trespass or theft and the extortion of money or land.

When Isabella, Queen of England, and her lover, Roger Mortimer, led a rebellion against her husband Edward, they captured both Despensers—first the elder, later the younger. Queen Isabella interceded for Hugh the elder, but his enemies, notably Roger Mortimer and Henry, Earl of Lancaster, insisted both father and son should face trial and execution.

The elder Despenser was hung immediately in his armor at Bristol on 27 October 1326. He was then beheaded and his body cut into pieces for the dogs. His head was sent for display to Winchester, which had supported the king.

John Plantagenet (1167–1216), King of England, my twenty-second great grandfather

His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to whom he has lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede. His later repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215–17 during which John died.

Hugh le Despenser (1223–1265), 1st Baron le Despencer, my twenty-second great grandfather

Hugh le Despencer was an important ally of Simon de Montfort during the reign of Henry III. He served briefly as Justiciar of England in 1260 and as Constable of the Tower of London.

Hugh Le Despenser, chief justiciar of England, first played an important part in 1258, when he was prominent on the baronial side in the Mad Parliament of Oxford. In 1260 the barons chose him to succeed Hugh Bigod as Justiciar, and in 1263 the king was further compelled to put the Tower of London in his hands.

He was the son of Hugh le Despenser and was summoned to Parliament by Simon de Montfort. Hugh was summoned as Lord Despencer Dec. 14, 1264 and was Chief Justiciar of England and a leader of the baronial party, and so might be deemed a baron, though the legality of that assembly is doubtful. He remained allied with Montfort to the end, and was present at the Battle of Lewes. He was killed fighting on de Montfort's side at the Battle of Evesham in August, 1265.

Henry II Plantagenet (1133–1189), King of England my twenty-third great grandfather

He introduced the concept of trial by jury to England. Although Henry usually worked well with the local hierarchies of the Church, his desire to reform England's relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

This controversy lasted for much of the 1160s and resulted in Becket's death in 1170. (I descend through two of Henry's children.)

William I "The Conqueror" (1027–1087), King of England my twenty-second great grandfather

William I, usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. The descendant of Viking raiders, he had been Duke of Normandy since 1035 under the style William II. After a long struggle to establish his power, by 1060 his hold on Normandy was secure, and he launched the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

William built a large fleet and invaded England in September 1066, decisively defeating and killing Harold at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066.

The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands and by difficulties with his eldest son. (I descend through three of his children.)

Richard de Clare (1130–1176), 2nd Earl of Pembroke my twenty-second great grandfather

Richard fits Gilbert de Clare, known as Strongbow, was an Anglo-Norman lord, notable in supporting Henry II of England in Ireland. He was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Beaumont. His father died when he was about 18 years old, and he inherited the title, but not at that stage his father's lands in the Welsh marches. When Diarmuid MacMorrough, king of Leinster, sought help from Henry II to regain his kingdom, he was pointed in the direction of Richard de Clare and other marcher barons and knights, together with Welsh archers (hence the name "Strongbow"). This army took Wexford, Waterford and Dublin in 1169 and 1170, and Strongbow married MacMorrough's daughter Aoife (Eve). When MacMorrough died, Strongbow claimed the kingship of Leinster in right of his wife. Henry II was concerned about his barons' new lands in Ireland and summoned him back to England in 1171, to extract their fealty and to prepare for his own invasion of Ireland that year to create the lordship of Ireland. In 1173, Henry's sons rose against him in Normandy; Strongbow's support for Henry led to him being made Henry's governor of Ireland. Strongbow died of an infection in 1176 during a rebellion by the Irish and was buried in Dublin - his tomb can be viewed in Christ Church Cathedral. He left a young son Gilbert who died in 1185 while still a minor, and a daughter Isabel. Henry II promised Isabel in marriage to William Marshal together with he father's lands and title.

Simon de Montfort (1208?–1265), 6th Earl of Leicester, my twenty-third great grandfather

Simon de Montfort was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the baronial opposition to the rule of King Henry III of England, culminating in the Second Barons' War. Following his initial victories over royal forces, he became de facto ruler of the country, and played a major role in the constitutional development of England. During his rule, Montfort called two famous parliaments. The first stripped the King of unlimited authority, while the second included ordinary citizens from the towns. For this reason, Montfort is regarded today as one of the progenitors of modern parliamentary democracy. As Earl of Leicester he expelled Jews from the city; as he became ruler of England he also cancelled debts owed to Jews through violent seizures of records. Events in London and Worcester, for instance, led to massacres. After a rule of just over a year, Montfort was killed by forces loyal to the King in the Battle of Evesham. He was instrumental in creating what would become the House of Commons.

Robert de Vere (aft 1164–1221), 3rd Earl of Oxford, my twenty-fourth great grandfather

He was a signer of the Magna Carta.

Henry de Bohun (1176–1220), 1st Earl of Hereford my twenty-fourth great grandfather

Bohun was one of the 25 executors of the Magna Carta, and was subsequently excommunicated by the Pope.

Roger de Montgomery (1005–1094), Earl of Shrewsbury my twenty-seventh great grandfather

Roger of Montgomery, was one of the great Anglo-Norman magnates in the period after the Norman conquest of England. He was one of William the Conqueror's principal counselors. He did not fight in the initial invasion of England in 1066, instead staying behind to help govern Normandy. Afterwards he was entrusted with land in two places critical for the defense of England, receiving the Rape of Arundel at the end of 1067 (or in early 1068), and in November 1071 he was created Earl of Shrewsbury.

William de Braose (1049–1095), 1st Lord of Bramber my twenty-fifth great grandfather

William was one of the most powerful barons in William the Conqueror's army. He was present at the Battle of Hastings. He received large tracts of land, chiefly in Sussex, including Bramber where he built Bramber Castle, the seat of power for the family. When William the Conqueror died near Rouen in 1087, William de Braose was with him. The family originally came from Briouze in Normandy, France, near Falaise where William the Conqueror was born.

William I "The Lion" (1143–1214), King of Scotland my twenty-fifth great grandfather

William the Lion, sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", (c 1143–4 December 1214) reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214. His reign was the second longest in Scottish history before the Act of Union with England in 1707.

Malcolm III Canmore (1032–13 November 1093), King of Scotland & Saint Margaret (1045–1095), Queen of Scotland my twenty-sixth great grandparents

Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, called in most Anglicised regnal lists Malcolm III, and in later centuries nicknamed Canmore, was King of Scots. Malcolm's long reign, lasting 35 years, preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norman age. He is the historical equivalent of the character of the same name in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045–16 November 1093), also known as Margaret of Wessex and Queen Margaret of Scotland, was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Born in exile in Hungary, she was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Margaret and her family returned to England in 1057, but fled to the Kingdom of Scotland following the Norman conquest of England of 1066. Around 1070 Margaret married Malcolm III of Scotland, becoming his queen consort. (I descend through two of their children.)

Saint David I (abt 1084–1153), King of Scotland, my twenty-seventh great grandfather

David I, ( 1084–24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians (1113–1124), Earl of Northampton and Huntingdon and later King of the Scots (1124–1153).

Alfred "The Great" (849–899), King of the West Saxons, my twenty-ninth great grandfather

He prevented the Danish conquest of England, defeating them at Edington (878) after a campaign of guerrila warfare. After his victory he allowed the Danes to keep their conquests in Mercia and East Anglia provided that Guthrum, their King, was converted to Christianity. Alfred built a navy of Warships to defend the south coast against further Danish invasions (885-886; 892-896) and protected Wessex with a chain of fortifications. He took London (886), thus gaining control of all England except the Danish areas.

Godgifu (Lady Godiva) (abt 1010–bef 1085), my twenty-ninth great grandmother

Everyone has heard the story. In about the year 1043, Lady Godiva rode naked on horseback in the streets of Coventry, England. This incident created such a stir that people are still talking about this now nearly one thousand years later. The question is: Why did she ride naked? The answer I found was that she was riding naked as a protest against taxes, including the tax on horses. These taxes had been imposed by her own husband, the Earl of Mercia. This turned out to be a very effective protest. It is still remembered now nearly one thousand years later.

Charlemagne (742–814), my thirtieth great grandfather

Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great or Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, the King of Italy from 774, the first Holy Roman Emperor, and the first emperor in western Europe since the collapse of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier.

Louis IV (abt 920–954), King of France, my thirty-second great grandfather

Louis IV, by name Louis d'Outremer (Louis from Overseas), king of France from 936 to 954

Muhammad, The Prophet (570–632), my forty-third great grandfather

Muhammad, (c. 570–c. 8 June 632), was a religious, political, and military leader from Mecca who unified Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. He is believed by Muslims and Bahá'ís to be a messenger and prophet of God. Muhammad is almost universally considered by Muslims as the last prophet sent by God for mankind. While non-Muslims regard Muhammad to have been the founder of Islam, Muslims consider him to have been the restorer of an unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.

Claudius (10 BC–54), Emperor of Rome, my fifty-eighth great grandfather

Claudius was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. Because he was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, his family ostracized him and excluded him from public office until his consulship, shared with his nephew Caligula in 37.

Ishmael, my sixty-seventh great grandfather

Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first son according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar.

Abram (Abraham) & Hagar, my sixty-eighth great grandparents

Abraham is the founding father of the Israelites, with a prominent role in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Hagar is a biblical person in the Book of Genesis Chapter 16. She was an Egyptian handmaid of Sarai (Sarah), who gave her to Abram (Abraham) to bear a child. Thus came the firstborn, Ishmael, the patriarch of the Ishmaelites.

Abram (Abraham) & Sarai (Sarah), my sixty-eighth great grandfather and eighty-eighth great grandmother

Abraham is the founding father of the Israelites, with a prominent role in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Sarah or Sara, was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran.

Noah & Naamah, my seventy-eighth great grandparents

During the time from Adam to Noah there was a tremendous increase in wickedness in the world. God decided to destroy the civilization of that day and build another one from Noah's family. God commanded Noah to built a three deck boat to save his family and animals from the world wide flood. Only Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives were saved. The flood occurred in the year 1656 when Noah was 600 years old. According to Jewish tradition, Noah was married to Naamah the daughter of Lemach and Zillah, of the descendants of Cain. Her brother was Tubal-Cain a worker of bronze and iron.

Judah & Tamar, my eighty-fifth great grandparents

Judah was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Judah. Tamar, was the daughter-in-law of Judah (twice), as well as the mother of two of his children: the twins Perez and Zerah.

Jacob & Leah, my eighty-sixth great grandparents

Jacob, also later known as Israel, as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament, the Qur'an and Baha'i scripture, was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants. Leah, as described in the Hebrew Bible, is the first of the two concurrent wives of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob and mother of six of sons whose descendants became the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

Isaac & Rebekkah, my eighty-seventh great grandparents

Isaac, as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites. According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah was beyond childbearing years.

Adam & Eve, my eighty-seventh great grandparents

Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. These religions teach that all humans are descended from Adam and Eve.

King Herremon & Queen Tea Tephi, my ninety-eighth great grandparents

In 569 B.C. the Hebrew Prophet Jeremiah arrived in Ireland from the "near east." In his party was Tea Tephi, the daughter of King Zedekiah (Judea) a pet Hebrew name. Also in the party was her husband Herremon, the son of King Herrmon of Ireland. Upon the death of Herremon (King) his son became King, and thus Tea Tephi became Queen.

Solomon, King of Judah and Israel, my one hundred fifteenth great grandfather

Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was, according to the Book of Kings, the Book of Chronicles, Hidden Words and the Qur'an, a king of Israel and the son of David. The conventional dates of Solomon's reign are circa 970 to 931 BC.

David, King of Judah and Israel, and Bathsheba, my one hundred sixteenth great grandparents

David, according to the Hebrew Bible, was the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel, and according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus. His life is conventionally dated to c. 1040–970 BCE, his reign over Judah c. 1010–1002 BCE, and his reign over the United Kingdom of Israel c. 1002–970 BCE.