Meek-Williams Family Tree

Now, what is interesting about Henry Sherman is that he was the son of a famous man, he was the 12th Great-Grandfather of President George W. Bush, and as noted below was brother to the ancestor of General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Henry Sherman (Thomas3, John2, Thomas1) was born 1524 in Yaxley, Cnty. Suffolk, England, and died 1590 in Dedham, Cnty. Essex, England. The fourth son of Thomas was Henry Sherman, born in 1524 some thirty miles south of Yaxley in Colchester, County Essex. With him there came a change in the type of life and possibly in the social position of the family for he is termed not "Gentleman" but "Clothier". Henry's wife was Agnes Butler and she gave him five sons and two daughters. Their eldest son was Henry. Their second son, Edmund, was the ancestor of General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Henry Sherman's father was Thomas Sherman.
Thomas Sherman was born 1490 in Yaxley, Cnty. Suffolk, England, and died November 1551 in Yaxley, Cnty. Suffolk, England. The History of Rhode Island says he "was born about 1480." He resided at Diss, on the river Waveney, between the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. His will mentions, property, including the manors of Royden and Royden Tuft, with appurtenances, at Royden and Bessingham, and other properties in Norfolk and Suffolk. Jane Waller was probably not his first wife.

Thomas Sherman was apparently responsible for a considerable improvement in the family fortunes and definitely responsible for a considerable increase in its size. He also lived in Yaxley and was a "Gentleman". He became an attorney-at-law with a large practice in the Court of Common Pleas. He served as a Deputy Sheriff in 1540 and 1546 and as a church warden of Yaxley, whose parish now owed its allegiance to the King of England instead of the Pope of Rome. He possessed the manors of Royden and Roydentuft at Royden, and Bessingham and other manors and landed estates in the vicinity. A manor may contain one or more villages or hamlets or only part of a village. It is a noble sort of fee, always claimed by prescription; i.e., by long continuance of time beyond the memory of man. Thomas married Jane Waller, daughter of John Waller, Esq., of Wortham, and she bore him ten children - all were sons and all, except one perhaps, married, and all were still living in 1551 when he died and was buried in Yaxley. An item in "Annals of Medical History", December 1921, p. 316, mentions "Richard Sherman, M.D. of Caius College (Cambridge University), 1567" who may quite possibly have been the second son of this Thomas Sherman. From: A NEW ENGLAND HERITAGE, By Frederick Barreda Sherman, 1969.

12th Great-Grandfather of George W. Bush:

1. Henry Sherman (1510/1520)
2. Edmund & Anne Pallette
3. Edmund & Joan Makin
4. Grace & John Livermore
5. Hannah & John Coolidge
6. Grace & Jonas Bond
7. Josiah & Elizabeth Fuller
8. Anna & Samuel Trask
9. Susannah & Jonathan Holman
10. Susan & Asa Waters
11. Susan & Samuel Torry
12. Louisa & Alphonso Taft
13. William Howard TAFT, 27th President (1857-1930)
2. Henry & Susan Lawrence
3. Anne & Anthony Whiting
4. Phoebe & John Barnard
5. Elizabeth & John Dix
6. Abigail & Jonathan Grout
7. John & Joanna Boynton
8. John, Jr. & Phebe Spofford
9. Phebe & Jacob Winn
10. Endymia & Thomas Sherwood
11. Lucinda & John Minthorn
12. Theodore & Mary Wasley
13. Hulda & Jesse Hoover
14. Herbert Clark HOOVER, 31st President (1874-1964)
3. Samuel & Philippa Ward
4. Philip & Sarah Odding
5. John & Sarah Spooner
6. Hannah & William Bourne
7. William & Mary Sheffield
8. Hannah & William Fitch
9. Anna & Isaac Pierce
10. Levi & Betsey Wheeler
11. Elizabeth & Courtland Butler
12. Mary & Robert Shelton
13. Flora & Samuel Bush
14. George Herbert Walker BUSH, 41st President (1924 - )
15. George Walker BUSH, 43rd President

But Henry Sherman was much more than that also. Henry was a landlord in Dedham in Essex County, and lived in a mansion called "Southfields," or sometimes called the Flemish House," which was built just before 1500. It included his residential quarters, a counting room, woadhouse and storerooms.
The Church of England was founded between 1533 and 1539 but prior to this date the Churches at Dedham, Yaxley and Diss were of the Roman Catholic religion.

Henry Sherman was the first of the Yaxley ancestry to settle in Dedham, the year being 1534 when he was about age 23 years. Dedham was a prosperous clothing village where interest in Puritanism attracted and kept lecturers of keen intellect. He became a leading clothier and was able to set up his sons, HENRY and EDMUND, in their own businesses; he sent his son, ROBERT, to the university; his daughters married well-to-do men.

So today, I honor Henry Sherman, and encourage all of his ancestors to do the same. Those of his ancestors living almost 500 years after Henry's birth have much to be thankful for because of this honorable and respected man. May his memory live long amongst us.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Christiana Penn

My 9th Great-Grandmother was Christiana Penn. She was the daughter of George Penn, and sister to Admiral William Penn, who was the father of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. That information alone makes her very interesting. We find that her brother the Admiral was so appreciated by king Charles II of England, that he gave the land of Pennsylvania to his son William after the death of the Admiral. Unfortunately, it appears that Christiana and William were not close for most of their lives because as will be shown below, Christiana fell onto many hard times in her life.

Christiana was born 2 Sep 1613 in Minety, Wiltshire, England . Below is her story in her own words.

My birth name is Christiana Penn. I am twenty-seven years old and have been married to Francis Eaton for nine years. Francis and I were married in 1624 here in Plymouth Colony. We have three children and Francis has one older son. Rachel is seven years old, Benjamin is five, and our poor little Christopher, who is not right in his head, is three years old. Francis’ son Samuel is twelve years old. Francis and I are both originally from St. Thomas Parish in Bristol, Gloucester County, England.

My husband Francis Eaton was born in Bristol, on September 11, 1596. He is thirty-seven years old. Francis’ parents are John and Dorothy Eaton. Francis was twenty-four when he, his wife, Sarah, and their baby Samuel arrived in Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower in 1620. Francis had three brothers, John, Samuel and Welthian and a sister, Jane, who all died from a sickness when they were very young. The only brother who Francis remembers is Samuel. I think that is why he named his first son, Samuel.

I, Christiana Penn, was born in 1606 in Bristol. My parents are George and Elizabeth Penn. Some people spell my name Christian. I arrived here in June 1623 when I was seventeen years old on the Anne. My father George Penn was born in 1571 in Birdham, Sussex County England and died last year, 1632, here in Plymouth Colony. Father’s parents are William and Margaret Penn. My mother, Elizabeth, is also from Birdham. I have one brother, William, who was born April 23, 1621 in Bristol, England. I am eleven years older than he is. In fact my step-son Samuel is older than my brother. William Penn is a good old family name. My great-grandfather William Penn was born in 1525 in Gloucester-shire, England. He must have been an important person because he is buried in the front of St. Leonard’s Church in Minety, his home town. There is even a plaque at the church commemorating his life.

By the time I arrived in Plymouth, in June 1623, Francis had his own land and had built his own house. Francis is a carpenter and skilled with the knife and hammer. He can make fine clapboard. Our tiny one room home is built with logs from the forest. Francis made wattle by weaving sticks together to make the inside walls. He mixed clay, water, and straw together to make daub plaster to cover the wattle and to keep the cold winds from coming through the cracks. He gathered reeds and wild grasses to thatch the roof to keep the snow and rain out. The floor is hard packed dirt. The chimney is made out of daub and wattle. Francis has made all of our furniture except for the old chest of drawers which I brought from home and a few other items which Sarah and Dorothy brought with them.

We use the open hearth for heating the house and for cooking. Most of our life takes place in our home around the hearth because the fire provides us with heat and light. We work, play, teach the children to read, teach the children a trade and worship in our home. My main job is to care for our children. I grow the food and cook it for my family and I preserve a lot of food for winter. I make all of our clothes and carry the water to keep them clean. Sometimes I make more candles than I need and my friend makes more soap than she needs so we trade but most of the time I make all of our own candles, soaps, and other basic household items. Once a week I go outdoors to the community ovens to bake our bread.

We spend a daily time in prayer. Francis is the head of our house. He makes all of the decisions and earns a living to provide for us. Francis is a fine carpenter so his skills are always needed by someone here in Plymouth.

A wooden fence around the house outlines our property. We carefully divided the yard into small raised rectangular beds with a dirt path between the beds. The garden beds are just wide enough so that I can weed them easily from either side. We gathered rocks and planks from the shore to raise the garden beds. Before I left England Mother helped me gather seeds and a few live plants to bring to my garden. Most of the live plants didn’t survive, but the seeds did. Every fall I collect more seeds. Dorothy had planted a garden before she died so there are some of her plants here too. I have several different kinds of plants in the garden which I can use for food, for flavor and some for medicines. I save all the vegetable scraps, and human and animal waste from our home. I work the waste carefully into the soil so my garden grows very well. It has taken long hard work over these years for my garden to finally flourish, but it has been worth it. This garden feeds our family until the main field crops are harvested. When I first came to Plymouth I didn’t know how to grow food. The weather is so much colder here than back home.

The Indians around here are very friendly. Years ago they taught us how to plant their corn and how to organize the garden so we use as little space as possible and grow the most food as possible. First I dig a lot of holes about six inches deep and throw a dead fish into each hole and cover the fish with dirt. Then I plant a few corn seeds in each mound. When the corn sprouts are about hand-high I plant climbing beans around the corn. When the beans grow they climb up the cornstalk. Then I plant squash and pumpkin seeds around the outside of the mounds. The squash grows around the beans and corn and I don’t have many weeds growing under those plants. By fall I have a beautiful patch of corn, beans and squash growing in the same space. My garden also has things like cabbage, parsley, carrots, radishes, spinach, and lettuce as well as parsnip, thyme, sage and other seasoning. I use the leaves of the house leek, which looks like an old hen and her little chickens, to smooth the cracked skin on my rough dry hands. Francis uses the house leek sometimes to patch holes in the thatched roof. I also grow elecampane to treat the phlegm of the deep cough and blessed thistle to help settle upset stomachs.

All of our farm animals like the hogs, chickens, goats, cattle and sheep have to be brought from England, too. We are always grateful to get more animals. We are even more excited when the animals have new babies because it means fresh milk and butter and later meat. We shear the sheep, spin the yarn then weave or knit warm clothing. We always need more farm animals.

When people get sick there is so little we can do for them and we don’t really know how to care for them except try to make them comfortable. I do have my herb garden but it is not much help when someone is really sick. Most of us women have a baby every couple of years. We loose so many babies and mothers in childbirth. The children who live often get sick and die before they can grow up. You have to be very strong to survive in this world. It was the same way in England. Francis was only seven years old when his four brothers and sisters died of a sickness. Actually there is some terrible sickness going around Plymouth Colony now and our friend Peter Browne, who came on the Mayflower with Francis, has recently died. Francis has the disease and has been ill for several months.

Francis acquired several acres of land during the past twelve year but we had to sell some of our land in order to pay people to work for us. Francis has been so sick and now we are far behind in paying the men to work in the field for us. Right now, Francis is unable to do any of the farming and can’t work at his carpenter trade either. Several men have helped us such as Mr. Fuller, Web, Rich Sparrow, Mr. Billington, and Thomas Prence. We do not have the money to pay them now. Last year Francis sold four acres of our land to Edward Winslow and thirty-two acres to William Brewster.

I keep telling Francis he should write down what is to be done with his property and belongings if he dies, but he won’t think of it. He has one cow and a calf, two hogs, fifty bushels of corn, a white hat and a black hat, boots, saws, hammers, and adze, square, augers, a chisel, boards, fishing lead, and some kitchen items. Francis owns our house but I am afraid we may have to sell the house soon. If Francis doesn’t get well I don’t know what will happen to me and our children. Samuel is twelve, Rachel is seven and Benjamin is five years old. Mr. Bradford says that our baby Christopher is an “ideote” but I love him even though he will never be able to take care of himself. I know we will survive, but it is hard to think about the future without Francis to care for all of us.

[End of Christiana Penn's Story.]

When CHRISTIAN married FRANCIS BILLINGSLY she was already a widow. Her new husband was likely not well received in the community, being the son of JOHN the murderer, which makes one wonder why she would chose to marry him. Perhaps it was love? or perhaps a necessity to not be a widow supporting four children without support?

It has been suggested that CHRISTIAN'S cousin was Admiral William Penn, whose son, William Penn, founded Pennsylvania. We’ll never know. Here’s what we do know about her:
1.) She arrived in Plymouth aboard the ship "Anne" in 1623
2.) In the 1623 Plymouth land division Christian Penn received one acre as a passenger on the Anne in 1623
3.) She was first married to Francis Eaton in 1624/25
4.) Her second marriage was to FRANCIS BILLINGTON in 1634
5.) Into her new marriage she brought 3 of her own children and one step-child from her deceased husbands first marriage.
6.) She had nine children with FRANCIS BILLINGTON. Seven survived into adulthood.
7.) On December 4th, 1638 her husband FRANCIS was fined for "drinking tobaccoe in the heighway".
8.) In 1642, according to the records of the town of Plymouth, several (at least 5) of her children were "bound out" to other families. This included Mary at age five, and Joseph, who apparently ran away from his foster parents to return to his birth parents, FRANCIS and CHRISTIAN. It is written that they turned him away quite sternly, because according to court documents of the time, FRANCIS and CHRISTIAN and step-son Benjamin were to be put into the stocks if they received run-away Joseph into their home.
9.) Between the years 1644-1650 death took two of her young children in a row (one is un-named, the other was Rebecca).
10.) In February 1665 her house burned down. Necessities were "collected for the Releife of FRANCIS BILLINGTON, hee haveing lately suffered great lose by the burning of his house". Records of the Town of Plymouth, Vol. 1, page 83.
11.) On June 7th, 1672 CHRISTIAN'S daughter, Dorcas, was whipped for committing fornication (probably for being pregnant and unmarried). She had an illegitimate son that same year.
12.) In 1676 CHRISTIAN'S son-in-law, Robert Beere, was killed by Indians. (Her daughter Elizabeth’s next husband, Thomas Patey, drowned in the Seekonk River in 1695).
13.) In 1680 CHRISTIAN'S daughter-in-law, Grace (wife to Joseph), was brought to stand before the courts, a second time, for theft. Joseph was ordered numerous times to find a job and support his family. He had the reputation of being a "lay-about". Perhaps this was fueled by his anger at being "bound out" to another family.
14.) The final thing we know about CHRISTIAN PENN BILLINGTON was that she died in July 1684 at Middleboro, Massachusetts.

I can’t help but think that CHRISTIAN'S story is a sad one. It started out with such grand adventure - leaving England for worlds unknown. I doubt she could’ve imagined how her life would end up. I hope there was some happiness in it. But happiness probably didn’t come easy when you married into, what Govenor Bradford called, "one of the profanest families among them".

I can't put any blame on Christiana, because in those days you did what you had to in order to survive. Once she was widowed, and Francis Eaton's property was probated, she had nothing left to take care of her children with. Perhaps in a different time her life would have been much easier, but it would be very difficult to put oneself in her shoes during the 17th Century. I can't help but be proud of her and what she was able to accomplish with what was available to her. Her minor scrapes with the law, and those of other family members can probably be overlooked when we realize how difficult life would have been for her.

I only wish I could have met her because I'm sure she would have been a very intersting person.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Elizabeth Williams and Forrest Meek descended from the DeRos Family

Lord Thomas DeRos, 5th Baron of Helmsley and his wife Beatrice Stafford had many children, but among them were Margaret and William. Margaret is 17th Great Grandmother to Phillip Meek and William is 18th Great Grandfather to Phillip. The Pedigree charts follow. Once again we see how closely the Meek and Williams families have been over the years.

Below is the Pedigree chart through the Williams Family

Margaret DeROS (1361 – 1414) [sister of William]

is your 17th great grandmother

Margaret GREY (1393 - 1426)

Daughter of Margaret

Margaret BONVILLE (1425 - 1487)

Daughter of Margaret

Edward COURTENAY (1453 - 1509)

Son of Margaret

Edward COURTENAY (1495 - 1539)

Son of Edward

Peter COURTENAY (1536 - 1606)

Son of Edward

Anne COURTENAY (1573 - 1658)

Daughter of Peter

Thomas HOLCOMB (1601 - 1657)

Son of Anne

Benajah HOLCOMB (1644 - 1735)

Son of Thomas

Abigail HOLCOMB (1681 - 1756)

Daughter of Benajah

Anthony AUSTIN (1700 - 1775)

Son of Abigail

Elizabeth AUSTIN (1731 - 1788)

Daughter of Anthony

Mary SHED (1740 - 1807)

Daughter of Elizabeth

Hiram SPALDING (1764 - )

Son of Mary

Henry SPALDING (1801 - 1877)

Son of Hiram

Eliza 'Lizzie' SPALDING (1830 - 1860)

Daughter of Henry

Franklin B 'Frank' WILLIAMS (1859 - 1927)

Son of Eliza 'Lizzie'

Charles Ernest WILLIAMS (1902 - 1982)

Son of Franklin B 'Frank'

Elizabeth Faye WILLIAMS (1931 - )

Daughter of Charles Ernest

Phillip Dwight MEEK

You are the son of Elizabeth Faye

And hrere is the Pedigree chart through the Meek Family

William DeROS (1368 – 1414) [brother of Margaret] is your 18th great grandfather

Thomas 9th Baron DeROS (1406 - 1430)

Son of William

Thomas 10th Baron DeROS (1427 - 1464)

Son of Thomas 9th Baron

Eleanor DeROOS (1449 - 1487)

Daughter of Thomas 10th Baron

Lord George 12th Baron deRos MANNERS (1469 - 1513)

Son of Eleanor

Thomas MANNERS (1488 - 1543)

Son of Lord George 12th Baron deRos

John '4th Earl of Rutland' MANNERS (1528 - 1611)

Son of Thomas

Sir George MANNERS (1572 - 1623)

Son of John '4th Earl of Rutland'

John The 8th Earl of Rutland MANNERS (1604 - 1679)

Son of Sir George

Elizabeth MANNERS (1633 - 1669)

Daughter of John The 8th Earl of Rutland

Thomas Bryan BOWLBY (1665 - 1730)

Son of Elizabeth

John M BOWLBY (1703 - 1782)

Son of Thomas Bryan

Samuel BOWLBY (1735 - 1823)

Son of John M

Hannah BOWLBY (1765 - 1842)

Daughter of Samuel

William A. Sr. PIATT (1792 - 1859)

Son of Hannah

Nathaniel A. PIATT (1826 - 1908)

Son of William A. Sr.

David Maxwell PIATT (1849 - 1886)

Son of Nathaniel A.

George Orville PIATT (1876 - 1959)

Son of David Maxwell

Alma LaMoyne PIATT (1910 - )

Daughter of George Orville

Lt Col Forrest Phillip MEEK (1930 - )

Son of Alma LaMoyne

Phillip Dwight MEEK

You are the son of Lt Col Forrest Phillip

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Our Cousins Lady Diana Spencer and Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill

Another interesting part of the history of the Meek-Williams Family Tree is the story of Sir John SPENCER, who was recognized as a descendant of the DeSpencer family and awarded the right to bear the arms of the DeSpencers by the College of Arms in England. He was knighted by King Henry VIII. We know that Lady Diana bore the same arms as did Sir Winston Spencer Churchill. Thus the sons of the Princess of Wales are distant cousins to the Charles Williams family as well as all descendants.

This line of the family tree is shown below:

Clara Faye Eggleston (b. 1911) m. Charles Earnest Williams (b. 1902) son of

Lillie Annetta "Nettie" Eberhard (1870-1952) m. Franklin B. "Frank" Williams (1859-1927) son of

George Washington Williams (1830-1900) m. Eliza "Lizzie" Spalding (1830-1860) daughter of

Lucy Stocking (1801-1877) m. Henry Spalding (1801-1877) son of

Berthana Holcomb (1770-?) m. Hiram Spalding (1764-?) son of

William Spalding (1733-1802) m. Mary Shed (1740-1807) daughter of

Ephraim Shed (1719-1763) m. Elizabeth Austin (1731-1788) daughter of

Anthony Austin (1700-1775) m. Elizabeth King (1699-1787)

I have already mentioned the history of the Austin Family in my Family photo section on Facebook. If you did not read that, it would be good to know that one of the descendants of Anthony developed the first American Colony in Texas and was the founder of the town of Austin, Texas.

James King (1675-1757) m. Elizabeth Huxley (1678-1745) daughter of

Thomas Huxley (1641-1721) m. Sarah Spencer (1646-1712) daughter of

Sarah Bearding (1623-1685) m. Sergeant Thomas Spencer (1607-1687)

Thomas Spencer arrived in America (Cambridge, Mass.) in 1620 at the age of 13, and was one of the founders of the City of Hartford, Connecticut. He was the son of

Alice Whitbread (1578-1628) m. Gerard Spencer (1576-1646) son of

Elizabeth Whitebread (1538-1599) m. Michael Spencer (1536-1599) son of

Ann Gerard (or Merrill) (1509-1566) m. John Spencer (1505-1558). John Spencer's brother was Sir William Spencer, High Sheriff of Northamptonshire. They were the sons of

Isabel Gaunt (1474-1530) m. Sir John Spencer (Knight) (1477-1532)

The Right Honorable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill

As to the Ancestry of Sir Winston Churchill, see the link below for more information about that. For this article, it is well to note that Sir Winston Churchill was a distant cousin, and a very honorable one at that. I'm glad to know he was a descendant of our ancestors.

http://www.winstonchurchill.org/learn/biography/genealogy

Lady Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales

I will delineate the ancestry of Lady Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales, but first, a bit of interesting information about this distant cousin. I should note that she was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. From her marriage in 1981 to her divorce in 1996 she was styled "Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales". After her divorce from the Prince of Wales in 1996 Diana ceased to be the Princess of Wales and also lost the resulting Royal Highness style, She received the title normally used by the ex-wives of peers, Diana, Princess of Wales under Letters Patent issued by Queen Elizabeth II at the time of the divorce. For more about Lady Diana, see the link below.

http://www.biographyonline.net/people/biography_princess_diana.html

Her two sons are of course living distant cousins of the Charles Williams family, so it will be very interesting to see a coronation some day of King Charles of England, their father who is also a distant cousin as I will show in a future article. Some day, one of our cousins may be the King. For now, it is interesting to note the ancestry of their mother, Lady Diana.

Diana Frances Spencer (b. 1 July 1961, d. 31 August, 1997) was the daughter of

Honorable Frances Ruth Burke Roche (1936-2004) m. Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (1924-1992) son of

Cynthia Elinor Beatrix Hamilton (1897-1972) m. Albert Edward John Spencer (1892-1975) son of

Margaret Baring (1868-1906) m. The Hon. Charles Robert, Viscount Althorp. Spencer (1857-1922) son of

Adelaide Horatia Seymour (1825-1877) m. Frederick Spencer (1798-1857) son of

Livinia Bingham (1762-1831) m. George John Spencer (1758-1834) son of

Margaret Georgiana Poyntz (1737-1814) m. John Spencer (1734-1783) son of

Georgina Grenville (1716-1780) m. John Spencer (1708-1746) son of

Anne Churchill (1683-1716) m. Charles Spencer (1674-1722) son of

Anne Digby (1646-1715) m. Robert Spencer (1641-1702) son of

Dorothy Sydney (1617-1683) m. Earl Henry Spencer (1620-1643) son of

Penelope Wriothesley (1598-1667) m. William Spencer (1591-1636) son of

Margaret Willoughby (1571-1597) m. Baron Robert Spencer (1570-1627) son of

Mary Catlin (1555-1619) m. John Spencer (1546-1599) son of

Catherine Kitson (1521-1586) m. John Spencer (1517-1586) son of

Susan Knightley (1498-1532) m. Sir William Spencer, High Sheriff of Northamptonshire (1496-1532). Sir William's half-brother was John Spencer (1505-1558), our ancestor. They were the sons of

Isabel Gaunt (1474-1530) m. Sir John Spencer (Knight) (1477-1532) son of

Elizabeth Empson (1448-?) m. William Spencer (1440-?) son of

Isabella Lincoln (? - ?) m. Henry Spencer (? - ?)

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Philip Capet IV, King of France

King Philip Capet IV, King of France (1268-1314) was the father of Isabella, the wife of King Edward II, of England. She is seen in the movie "Braveheart" as the bride of the young prince, during the reign of his father Edward I, Longshanks.

This line of my ancestry is full of royalty, so I have decided to list my direct ancestors in this line.

King Philip was married to Jeanne Navarre I (1272-1305)

Their daughter Princess Isabella Capet (1292-1358) married Edward Plantagenet II, King of England (1284-1327) and became Queen of England.

Their son Edward Plantagenet III, King of England (1312-1377) married Philippa D Avensnes of Hainault (1311-1369)

This gets interesting, because 2 branches of my family are descended from King Edward III and Queen Philippa. They are:

John Gaunt Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Lancaster (1340-1399) who married Katherine DeRoet (1350-1403)

AND

Edmund Plantagenet, Prince of England, 1st Duke of York (1341-1402) who married Isabella Perez, Princess of Castile and Leon (1355-1392)

I will show you below, how the family comes together again in the form of Edmund's grandson, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, and John's Grand-daughter, Lady Cecily Neville.

John and Katherine Plantagenet, the Duke and Duchess of Lancaster had a daughter Joan DeBeaufort (1375-1440) who married Sir Ralph DeNeville, 1st Earl of Westmoreland (1364-1425). Earl Ralph and Countess Joan had among their many children, Lady Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, who married Edmund's grandson, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York (1411-1460) as mentioned above.

John's brother Edmund and his wife Isabella Perez, had a son named Richard Plantagenet, the Earl of Cambridge (1376-1415). Earl Richard married Anne Mortimer (1390-1411) and their son was Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York (1411-1460).

So, the family line came back together in 1424 when Richard, Duke of York, Plantagenet, married Lady Cecily Neville, who then became the Duchess of York. Their daughter Anne Plantagenet (1439-1476) married Thomas St. Leger (1419-1483). I haven't found any English titles associated with Anne or Thomas, but their daughter Anne St. Leger (1476-1526) married Lord George Manners, 12th Baron DeRos (1469-1513), thus becoming Baroness DeRos.

Lord George and Lady Ann Manners were the parents of Sir Thomas Manners, a Knight of the Order of the Garter (1488-1523) who married Eleanor Paston (1496-1551). Sir Thomas and Lady Eleanor were the parents of Sir John Manners, 4th Earl of Rutland (?-1611).

Sir John married Dorothy Vernon (1531-1584) and they were the parents of Sir George Manners (1572-1623) who married Grace Pierrepont (1575-1650).

Sir George and Lady Grace Manners were the parents of Sir John Manners, the 8th Earl of Rutland (1604-1679).

Sir John Manners married the Honorable Francis Montague (1614-1671) and they became the parents of Elizabeth Manners (1633-1669), as far as I can tell. I don't have proof of this relationship, but I know that Elizabeth was born in Helmsley England, and lived in Mansfield Woodhouse, which was in the same geographical area as the places which John Manners lived at the time. Sir John and Lady Francis had another daughter who became Lady Elizabeth Manners, but it is well know that gentry of that time were known to have many illigitimate children who would bear their names, and although their wives knew about the promiscuity of these "gentlemen" they were not in any condition to complain about it. In fact it is known that when they did confront this situation they were reprimanded and labeled as troublemakers, many times sent to live in a different home with their children. Thus, the evidence points strongly to the possibility that our Elizabeth Manners was an illigitimate daughter of Sir John Manners and this may have been well known among the people of those times, although I have never found any documents to prove that it is a fact. In any case, even if our Elizabeth Manners was not the daughter of Sir John and Lady Francis, it is very likely that her father had the name of Manners and that he lived in Nottinghamshire England about the same time as Sir John Manners, and very likely was closely related, as a brother or cousin to John. Until I have further proof to link Elizabeth Manners to her parents, I will use this relationship with Sir John and Lady Francis.

Elizabeth Manners was the wife of Bryan B Bowlby (1633-1696) who was born in Helmsley and lived in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, England. They were married in 1659 in Helmsley and both died in Mansfield Woodhouse. Helmsley Castle was the dwelling place of Sir John and Lacy Francis, which gives strong circumstantial evidence again of the relationship of Elizabeth Manners to them.

Bryan and Elizabeth (Manners) Bowlby were the parents of Thomas Bryan Bowlby (1665-1730) who was married to Martha Barker (1671-1731) in 1693. In 1727 Thomas and Martha immigrated to New Jersey. These events are more circumstantial evidence that Elizabeth was related to John and Francis Manners since it was not a cheap adventure to travel to America, but took some money and political support to be allowed to go. Thomas and Martha would have had both with a close relationship to the Earl of Rutland.

John M. Bowlby was the son of Thomas and Martha, born in 1703 in Mansfield Woodhouse and would have travelled with his parents to New Jersey in 1727. John married Mary Lanning (1710-1780) in 1734 in Burlington, New Jersey. He died in 1782 in Imlaydale, Mansfield Woodhouse Township, Sussex County, New Jersy. That name, Mansfield Woodhouse seems to permeate the atmosphere around the Manners and Bowlby families.

John and Mary (Lanning) Bowlby had a son named Samuel Bowlby (1735-1823) who married Elizabeth Dunn (1739-1823) in 1760 in New Jersey. Samuel and Elizabeth had a daughter Hannah Bowlby (1765-1842), born in Mansfield, New Jersey who married Benjamin Piatt (1762-1826), my 5th Great-Grandfather.

So Philip Capet IV, King of France was my 21st Great-Grandfather (that is Great, 21 times, followed by Grandfather). His story is below.

King Philip IV of France

A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of Fontainebleau at Seine-et-Marne in 1268, the son of King Philip III and Isabella of Aragon. Philip was nicknamed the Fair (le Bel) because of his handsome appearance, but his inflexible personality gained him other epithets, from friend and foe alike. His fierce opponent Bernard Saisset, bishop of Pamiers, said of him, "He is neither man nor beast. This is a statue"

His education was guided by Guillaume d'Ercuis the almoner of his father.

As prince, just before his father's death, he negotiated the safe passage of the royal family out of Aragon after the unsuccessful Aragonese Crusade.

Consolidation of the royal demesne

As a king, Philip was determined to strengthen the monarchy at any cost. He relied, more than any of his predecessors, on a professional bureaucracy of legalists. Because to the public he kept aloof and left specific policies, especially unpopular ones, to his ministers, he was called a "useless owl" by his contemporaries. His reign marks the French transition from a charismatic monarchy – which could all but collapse in an incompetent reign – to a bureaucratic kingdom, a move towards modernity.

Philip married queen Joan of Navarre (1271–1305) on August 16, 1284. The primary administrative benefit of this was the inheritance of Joan in Champagne and Brie, which were adjacent to the royal demesne in Ile-de-France and became thus effectively united to the king's own lands, forming an expansive area. During the reigns of Joan herself, and her three sons (1284–1328), these lands belonged to the person of the king; but by 1328 they had become so entrenched in the royal domain that king Philip VI of France (who was not an heir of Joan) switched lands with the then rightful heiress, Joan II of Navarre, with the effect that Champagne and Brie remained part of the royal demesne and Joan received compensation with lands in western Normandy.

The Kingdom of Navarre in the Pyrenees was not so important to contemporary interests of the French crown. It remained in personal union 1284–1329, after which it went its separate way. Philippe gained Lyon for France in 1312.

Contacts with the Mongols

Main article: Franco-Mongol alliance

Philip had various contacts with the Mongol power in the Middle East, who were trying to obtain the cooperation of Christian powers to fight against the Muslims. He received the embassy of the Mongolian Chinese monk Rabban Bar Sauma, and an elephant as a present.[2] Philip seemingly responded positively to the request of the embassy:

"If it be indeed so that the Mongols, though they are not Christians, are going to fight against the Arabs for the capture of Jerusalem, it is meet especially for us that we should fight [with them], and if our Lord willeth, go forth in full strength."

—"The Monks of Kublai Khan Emperor of China

Philip led Rabban Bar Sauma in a visit of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris.Philip also gave the embassy numerous presents, and sent one of his noblemen, Gobert de Helleville, to accompany Bar Sauma back to Mongol lands:

"And he said unto us, "I will send with you one of the great Amirs whom I have here with me to give an answer to King Arghon"; and the king gave Rabban Sawma gifts and apparel of great price."

—"The Monks of Kublai Khan Emperor of China

Gobert de Helleville departed on February 2, 1288, with two clercs Robert de Senlis and Guillaume de Bruyères, as well as arbaletier Audin de Bourges. They joined Bar Sauma in Rome, and accompanied him to Persia.

The Mongol ruler Arghun, based in Baghdad, further wrote to him a letter in 1289, in answer to a letter sent by Philip to him in 1288, specifically outlining military cooperation:

Extract of the letter of Arghun to Philip IV, in the Uyghur script, dated 1289. French National Archives."Under the power of the eternal sky, the message of the great king, Arghun, to the king of France..., said: I have accepted the word that you forwarded by the messengers under Saymer Sagura (Bar Sauma), saying that if the warriors of Il Khaan invade Egypt you would support them. We would also lend our support by going there at the end of the Tiger year’s winter [1290], worshiping the sky, and settle in Damascus in the early spring [1291].

If you send your warriors as promised and conquer Egypt, worshiping the sky, then I shall give you Jerusalem. If any of our warriors arrive later than arranged, all will be futile and no one will benefit. If you care to please give me your impressions, and I would also be very willing to accept any samples of French opulence that you care to burden your messengers with.

I send this to you by Myckeril and say: All will be known by the power of the sky and the greatness of kings. This letter was scribed on the sixth of the early summer in the year of the Ox at Ho’ndlon."

—France royal archives

Contrary to Saint Louis, Philip apparently did not pursue with such military plans in the Middle East in the form of a Crusade. He did however organize a military collaboration with the Mongols through the Knights Templar and their leader Jacques de Molay against the Mamluks. The plan was to coordinate actions between the Christian military orders, the King of Cyprus, the aristocracy of Cyprus and Little Armenia and the Mongols of the khanate of Ilkhan (Persia). In 1298 or 1299, Jacques de Molay halted a Mamluk invasion with military force in Armenia possibly because of the loss of Roche-Guillaume, the last Templar stronghold in Cilicia, to the Mamluks. However, when the Mongol khan of Persia, Ghâzân, defeated the Mamluks in the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar in December 1299, the Christian forces were not ready to take an advantage of the situation.

In 1300, Jacques de Molay made his order commit raids along the Egyptian and Syrian coasts to weaken the enemy's supply lines as well as to harass them, and in November that year he joined the occupation of the tiny fortress island of Ruad (today called Arwad) which faced the Syrian town of Tortosa. The intent was to establish a bridgehead in accordance with the Mongol alliance, but the Mongols were delayed for months, and the Crusaders had to retreat to Arwad. In 1300, rumors circulated in Europe that the Mongols had finally conquered the Holy Land and Jerusalem, and handed it over to the Christians, but this apparently did not happen.

French Monarchy Direct Capetians Philip IV Louis X Philip V Isabella, Queen of England Charles IV Grandchildren Joan II of Navarre John I Joan III, Countess and Duchess of Burgundy Margaret I, Countess of Burgundy Edward III of England Mary of France Blanche of France, Duchess of Orléans

In September 1302 the Templars were driven out of Ruad by the attacking Mamluk forces from Egypt, and many were massacred when trapped on the island. The island of Ruad was lost, and when Ghâzân died in 1304 dreams of a rapid reconquest of the Holy Land were destroyed.

Letter of Oljeitu to Philippe le Bel, 1305.In April 1305, the new Mongol ruler Oljeitu sent letters to Philip, the Pope, and Edward I of England. He again offered a military collaboration between the Christian nations of Europe and the Mongols against the Mamluks. European nations accordingly prepared a crusade, but were delayed, and the crusade never took place.

In 1310, Guillaume de Nogaret wrote a memorandum about capturing the Holy Land without the Templars, but in association with the Mongols, the Greeks and the harbour cities of Italy. The expedition would be financed by the revenues of the Templars and a tax on the Hospitallers and other orders.

On April 4, 1312, a Crusade was promulgated at the Council of Vienne. In 1313, Philip "took the cross", making the vow to go on a Crusade in the Levant, thus responding to Pope Clement V's call for a Crusade. He was however warned against leaving by Enguerrand de Marigny and died soon after in a hunting accident.

War With the English

Hommage of Edward I (Longshanks) King of England, to the Philippe le Bel (King of France). As Duke of Aquitaine, Edward was a vassal to the French king.As Duke of Aquitaine, the English king Edward I was a vassal to Philip, and had to pay him hommage. Following the Fall of Acre in 1291 however, the former allies started to show dissent.

In 1293, following a naval incident between the Normands and the English, Philip summoned Edward to the French court, but the latter, busy with trouble in Scotland, refused to appear. Philip used this pretext to strip Edward of all his possessions in France, thereby initiating hostilities with England.

The outbreak of hostilities with England in 1294 was the inevitable result of the competitive expansionist monarchies, triggered by a secret Franco-Scottish pact of mutual assistance against Edward I, who was Philip's brother-in-law, having married Philip's sister Marguerite; inconclusive campaigns for the control of Gascony to the southwest of France were fought in 1294–98 and 1300–03. Philippe gained Guienne but was forced to return it. No major war had been fought in Europe since the 'teens, and in the interim the nature of warfare had changed: it had become more professional, technologically more advanced and much more expensive. The search for income to cover military expenditures set its stamp on Philip's reign and his contemporary reputation. Pursuant to the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1303), the marriage of Philip's daughter Isabella to the Prince of Wales, heir of Philip's enemy, celebrated at Boulogne, 25 January 1308, was meant to seal a peace; instead it would produce an eventual English claimant to the French throne itself, and the Hundred Years War.

The drive for income - Philip was not a nice guy

Gold coin of Philippe IV. Cabinet des Médailles.In the shorter term, Philip arrested Jews so he could seize their assets to accommodate the inflated costs of modern warfare: he expelled them from his French territories on July 22, 1306 (see The Great Exile of 1306). His financial victims included Lombard bankers and rich abbots. He was condemned by his enemies in the Catholic Church[14] for his spendthrift lifestyle. He debased the coinage. When he also levied taxes on the French clergy of one half their annual income, he caused an uproar within the Roman Catholic Church and the papacy, prompting Pope Boniface VIII to issue the Bull Clericis laicos, forbidding the transferance of any church property to the French Crown and prompting a drawn-out diplomatic battle with the King. In order to condemn the pope, Philip convoked an assembly of bishops, nobles and grand bourgeois of Paris, a precursor to the Etats Généraux that appeared for the first time during his reign, a measure of the professionalism and order that his ministers were introducing into government. Philip emerged victorious, after having sent his agent William Nogaret to arrest Boniface at Anagni, when the French archbishop Bertrand de Goth was elected pope as Clement V and the official seat of the papacy moved to Avignon, an enclave surrounded by French territories, commencing the captive Avignon Papacy.

In Flanders

Later portrait of Philip the FairHe suffered a major embarrassment when an army of 2,500 noble men-at-arms (Knights and Squires) and 4,000 infantry he sent to suppress an uprising in Flanders was defeated in the Battle of the Golden Spurs near Kortrijk on 11 July 1302. Philip reacted with energy to the humiliation and personally defeated the Flemings at Mons-en-Pévèle two years later. Finally, in 1305, Philip forced the Flemish to accept a harsh peace treaty after his success at the battle of Mons-en-Pévèle; the peace exacted heavy reparations and humiliating penalties, and added the rich cloth cities of Lille and Douai, sites of major cloth fairs, to the royal territory. Béthune, first of the Flemish cities to yield, was granted to Mahaut, Countess of Artois, whose two daughters, to secure her fidelity, were married to Philip's two sons.

Suppression of the Knights Templar - Why Friday the 13th has been considered an unlucky day for over 700 years.

On Friday, October 13, 1307, hundreds of Knights Templar in France were simultaneously arrested by agents of Philip the Fair, to be later tortured into admitting heresy in the Order[15]. The Knights Templar were a 200-year-old military order, supposedly answerable only to the Pope. But Philip used his influence over Clement V, who was largely his pawn, to disband the order and remove its ecclesiastical status and protection in order to plunder it.

A modern historical view is that Philip seized the considerable Templar treasury and broke up the Templar monastic banking system. In 1314, he had the last Grand Master of the Templars, Jacques de Molay, burnt at the stake in Paris. According to legend, de Molay cursed both Philip and Clement V from the flames, saying that he would summon them before God's Tribunal within a year; as it turned out, both King and Pope died within the next year.

Tour de Nesle affair

In 1314, the daughters-in-law of Philip IV were accused of adultery, and their alleged lovers tortured, flayed and executed in what has come to be known as the Tour de Nesle Affair (Affaire de la tour de Nesle).

Death

Tomb of Philippe le Bel in the Saint Denis Basilica.Philip IV's rule signaled the decline of the papacy's power from its near complete authority. His palace located on the Île de la Cité is represented today by surviving sections of the Conciergerie. He died during a hunt when he was mauled by a wild boar and is buried in Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by his son Louis X.

Cornelius Hendrickson - Navigator/Explorer

Cornelius Hendrickson was my 11th Great-Grandfather, ancestor of Phoebe Hendrickson, the grandmother of William A. Piatt Sr., who was the father of Nathaniel Piatt of Branch County, Michigan fame.

Below is his story.

Cornelius Hendrickson was born about 1572 in Utrecht, Holland. He became a Navigator and the first white man to set foot on the soil of Pennsylvania and West Jersey. He was the discoverer of the Raritan and Schuylkill rivers, and explored the Delaware to the falls at the present site of Trenton. During the latter part of 1614 he explored the coast of New Jersey in the yacht "Onrust", Dutch for Restless, the first vessel built in New Amsterdam or in America. This vessel was first sailed by Captain Adraien Block. Full accounts can be found in O'Callaghan's & Brodhead's Histories as well as in the records of the NY Historical Society.

Papers of the Historical Society of Delaware, by Historical Society of Delaware; Published by the Society 1903...

There were a succession of voyages from Holland to the new world. In the fleet the ship Fortune, commanded by captain Cornelius Jacobson Mey, from whom Cape May derived it's name. In the same fleet was Adrien Block's Tijger (Tiger) vessel, which was destroyed by fire when about to sail for home. The rest of the vessels continued without it. Captain Block built a hut on the shore of a little island where he spent the winter of 1613/14 in Constructing a boat to take the place of the burnt Tiger.

This new craft was the first built in America, was 38 feet keel, 44 1/2 feet long, 11 feet wide and 16 tonnage. She was christened Onrust or Restless, and although scarcely larger than a modern fishing smack or oyster shallop, was distined to great historical fame; for it was with this diminutive vessel that captain Cornelius Hendrickson in 1615-1616 made a thorough exploration of Delaware Bay and river, at least as far north as the mouth of the Schuylkill. In the course of hisadventures the enterprising explorer ascended our Christiana, where he met a band of Minqua Indians with whom he traded; and it should prove a matter of some interest to our immediate community that perhaps on the very spot where Wilmington now stands the captain held a friendly conference with the red men, from whom moreover he rescued three white captives who had wandered from the Dutch fort on the Hudson.

Hendricksen's own report distinctly states that he "discovered and explored certain lands, a bay and three rivers situated between 38 and 40 degrees' Hendricksen, as the first explored in detail of the Delaware Bay and River, was the first white man to tread the soil of what is now Delaware territory. He accurately reported the character of the country, it's trees, streams, native fruits, wild animals, abundant game and temperate climate.

He was the first to sail to present day Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Encyclopedia of New Jersey, Rutgers University Press, 2004

Captain Cornelius Hendrickson, a Dutch explorer and cartographer, sailed into Barnegat Bay and up the Toms River. He charted these bodies of waters and filed the first definitive map of the coast line of New Jersey in Amsterdam in 1616.

http://www.theonrust.com/

The Onrust was launched into Upper New York Bay in April 1614. It explored the New York coastal areas and rivers, sailed through the treacherous passage called Helle-gat (Hell Gate) in the East River, explored the harbors of Long Island and Connecticut discovering the Housatonic and Thames rivers, and sailed up the Connecticut (deVersche River) River past the site of Hartford. The Onrust continued on to Narragansett and Buzzards Bays, and Cape Cod. (Block apparently first sailed the Onrust, and Hendrickson soon after).

About this Blog

This blog is being created to provide a place where anyone can access the stories of special people in my family tree. I have been putting the information on facebook for several months, but decided that a blog might be a better way to handle the information. What is on facebook will stay there, but what will be added from now on will be found in this blog, and then notification to friends and family will tell them that there is a new post here.

With that, I have 3 new posts to put up here about members of the Meek-Williams family tree. Although each of us would like to know that we have good and wonderful members of the family, going back as far in history as possible, the truth is that there are always some "skeletons in the closet" in every family. Not all members of this family were shining examples to the world, as you will see in some of the posts here, but there is something to be learned about ourselves and our family in every story.

So..... let's begin!