The Shakespeare of the Netherlands

Joost Van Den Vondel, my maternal 7th great grandfather, was a 16th century poet and playwright who produced some of the greatest works of Dutch literature.  His allegorical plays drew from Christian themes and reflected his religious and political views.  He "holds the record for the longest tradition of annual performance in Europe." (Brill)  John Milton drew inspiration from Vondel's tragedy of Lucifer, introduced in 1654.  You can read the play HERE.   

Joost Van Den Vondel > Joost Van Den Vondel > Johannes Van Den Vondel (Wandell) > Jacob Wandell > Capt. Jacob Wandell > Miriam Olivia Wandell > Ada C. Hall > Horace C. Crofford > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

NOTE: this link has not been professionally verified. Working on it!

From the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia:  

"He is the greatest poet the Netherlands have produced, one who is distinguished in every form and who occupies a place among the best poets of all time."

As a legacy, Amsterdam's biggest park, the Vondelpark, bears his name, as well as his statue in the northern part of the park. The Dutch five guilder banknote bore Vondel's portrait from 1950 until its discontinuation in 1990.

Ranchers feud

The story is that my maternal great grandfather Horace Crofford spent a year in jail for murder.  There was a feud over grazing land between the sheep rancher (my great grandfather) and a cattle rancher.  Eventually, it was declared that my great grandfather acted in self defense and he was cleared.

Horace C. Crofford, 1891

I found several newspaper accounts of the incident:

HOT SPRINGS, July 27.—Saturday evening about 7 o'clock a tragedy occurred on Lame Johnny creek, six miles north of Buffalo Gap, in which John Taylor, a young ranchman was shot and instantly killed by Horace Crofford, ex-commissioner of Custer county, and an extensive sheep owner. The trouble arose between the parties over the possession of the range for Crofford's sheep. Crofford immediately gave himself up to the authorities at Buffalo Gap. He will waive examination and be bound over to the circuit court. Public sympathy seems to be with Crofford, who, it is claimed, did the killing In self defense. Crofford is in charge of the sheriff at Custer. Estherville Daily News, 1895

1.  The small town of Buffalo Gap.  2. the fertile land about six miles north of Buffalo Gap on Lame Johnny Creek.  I studied the maps of the area and best I can figure, this is the approximate site of the killing.  Area is at the southern end of the Black Hills National Forest, near Custer State Park.

I have not found documentation of the resolution of the case. 

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Congruent Maternal/Paternal lines

I have discovered additional convincing evidence that my father's and mother's ancestors knew each other long, long ago.

In 1652 my paternal 9th great grandfather Thomas Judd was one of seven founders of the Church of Christ in Farmington, CT, and was a pillar of the church until his death in 1688.  His children and grandchildren were baptized there.

Samuel and Hannah Hickok, my maternal 8th great grandparents, were members of the congregation at the same time and their children were also baptized there.

There were only 84 proprietors of town of Farmington at the time.

Detailed church records can be seen here.

From the church website > click here.

From the Farmington Historical Society:

George Washington, who traveled through town in 1780 and 1781, is said to have called Farmington "the village of pretty houses." And when the French army, commanded by the Comte de Rochambeau, camped in town in 1781, an officer wrote, "This town contains some of the handsomest houses and best people in America."