Sunday, March 2, 2014

We will never be Royals

... but we were so close!  the English are so much better at documenting their lineages.  Once I am able to connect our family tree to someone in England, the research is a piece of cake.  There are Knights, Lords and Ladies, Crusaders, Consorts, Castles, and a direct (albeit illegitimate) link to Royalty in our ancestry. There was even a beheading!

Elizabeth Fitzhugh Vaux, Lady of Ravensworth, my 14th great grandmother on my paternal side, was the grandmother of Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII.  The Vaux family were created barons by Henry VIII in 1523.
Ravensworth Castle - geograph.org.uk - 2380905.jpg
Ruins of Ravensworth Castle
Her husband Nicholas, my paternal 14th great grandfather, was the Baron of Harrowden; his grandfather was a Knight.

Harrowden Hall, now the Wellingborough Golf Club

Sir George Throckmorton, my paternal 13th great grandfather, was the Lord and Knight of Coughton.
His son, Sir Robert, was the High Sheriff of Warwick.

My paternal 12th great grandmother was Muriel Berkeley of Berkeley Castle.

Berkeley Castle

Audrey Barlow, my paternal 9th great grandmother, was a descendent of Henry II of England by his mistress Ida De Tony.
scan0003-Elizabeth Audrey Barlowe
Audrey Barlow, also the ancestor of Sarah Palin, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter.

My maternal 14th great grandfather, Sir Ieuan "Evan" Bushe, was descended from Welsh royalty and was in a long line of Knights and Ladies, and his issue married into families of Lords and Ladies such as Fernfould and L'Strange. According to Wikipedia, he was a renowned poet.
Ieuan wrote about 50 poems.  His love poems are considered to be his best work.

Sir William Carter of Hertfordshire, my maternal 13th great grandfather, married Lady Alice Croxton of Watford; his parents were the Lord and Lady of Cusworth.
File:Cusworth Hall.jpg
Cusworth Hall, now a country house museum
Lord William Ravenscroft of Croxton (maternal 14th great grandfather), father of Lady Alice.
Croxton Abbey

My maternal 16th great grandfather, Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, was beheaded in 1460 after the Battle of Wakefield.
Richard Neville effigy

Others direct ancestors include:
Sir John Anstell (maternal 13th great grandfather) of Cornwall

Cornwall
Sir John Wright, maternal 15th great grandfather, Lord Kelvedon
St. Mary the Virgin Church, Kelvedon, Essex
Perhaps, most famously of all, John Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Lancaster, maternal 18th great grandfather
Johnofgaunt.jpg
John of "Gaunt" (born in Ghent), 1st Duke of Lancaster
Kenilworth Castle, modernized by John of Gaunt after 1350.

So, that is the extent of my knowledge of our English bloodlines to date.  I remember learning about some of these people in my history and English Literature classes.






6 comments:

  1. I believe we are quite distant cousins. I just traced my paternal lineage to Lady Alice Croxton! Do you have any more information about her? I would love to learn more.

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  2. I don't know much about Alyce, but that whole family is quite colorful! If you go on Ancestry, my tree is called "Austin Family Tree." Feel free to look at what I have discovered so far and please let me know if you find any errors!

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  3. my heavens we have some of the same relatives . I do have a chart of Carters given to me by hubbys grandmother and mother . 195 names and I can take it down if we are of the same to 1873.

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  4. I have only started researching MY family, but according to my records, Alice Croxton is my 16th grandmother via my Carter heritage. So, hello cousin! ��

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  5. I think the descendants of these folks are many! I'd love to visit some of the ancestral places in England. Good luck on your research, cousin!

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  6. Iam just finding out that sir john and lady margaret are my 17th great grand pearents would like to learn more about them.

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I welcome your helpful comments and feedback!